


How I Met my Brother and Regretted Everything

by Prince_of_Trash



Category: Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: AU where Ravencroft wasn't shut down and Carnage remains there, Agender Sleeper, Agender Venom Symbiote, Brotp, Character Study, Crack Treated Seriously, Dark Humor, Discussions of Past Trauma, Eddie and Venom Symbiote are only referred to as Venom when they combine, Family Drama, Gallows Humor, I laugh at my own jokes throughout this, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Murder Puns, Past Child Abuse, Sleeper has some major empathy problems and questionable morals, Venom Symbiote Loves Eddie Brock, We're going to ignore the Venom 2018 comic run, reluctant buddycom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-09-17 21:36:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 69,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16982250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_of_Trash/pseuds/Prince_of_Trash
Summary: While exploring the cosmos, Sleeper comes across a monstrous creature heading straight towards Earth, the home of their beloved parents.Remembering a face from their parents' nightmares, they quickly hatch an easy scheme to keep Eddie and the Venom Symbiote safe:1) Find Carnage.2) Make Carnage fight the space demon by any means necessary.3) Be sure he dies in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, it's been 8 years since I've written a fanfiction, but I have fallen into Venom hell and I don't want to leave any time soon. I'm vastly intrigued by Carnage and Sleeper as siblings and what a possible dynamic they could have, so here's my take. We're just going to nip this in the bud and call it an AU, but my aim is to keep them both in character as much as possible while space shenanigans are happening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_They fuck you up, your mum and dad._

_They may not mean to, but they do._

_They fill you with the faults they had_

_And add some extra, just for you._

_But they were fucked up in their turn_

_By fools in old-style hats and coats,_

_Who half the time were soppy-stern_

_And half at one another’s throats._

_Man hands on misery to man._

_It deepens like a coastal shelf._

_Get out as early as you can,_

_And don’t have any kids yourself._

 

-"This Be The Verse" by Philip Larkin

 

 

In an apartment building deep in the bowels of New York City, the corpse of an alien knocked on a grimy wooden door. The other alien who currently piloted said corpse took in the smell of cat pee and mildew from the hallway and felt a twinge of nostalgia for their very brief childhood. The disembodied voices of the building’s other tenants sounded through the walls like melodies of a forgotten lullaby:

Crying children, an animal giving birth somewhere, the crescendo of a woman shouting _“Fuck you, Greg!”_ followed by a thud -- all tied together by distant sirens and what suspiciously sounded like two men fucking next door.

It was good to be home.

It was here that they spent their last few months on Earth with their parents, and the alien within the alien held those months dear. They forced their corpse suit to pull the collar of their trench coat up further to hide its blue skin. New York was a weird city, but it was better to let the human weirdos keep their well-earned attention so aliens could visit their parents in peace.  

“Dammit, Greg! I Already told you-” muffled voice grew louder and clearer from the other side of the door before it swung open, “- I don’t want any cocaine!” A very muscular man wearing boxer shorts and a stained hoodie stood in the doorway. He looked like he had just woken up from a nap, and after he rubbed his eyes, he squinted at the equally buff dead alien until his expression shifted to one of astonishment. “Sleeper?”

“Hello, Father,” Sleeper said through their host’s mouth. The man immediately pulled him inside and hugged him close.

“Sleeper, it’s so good to see you,” the man said.

“Our child!” A black serpentine head emerged from the man’s back complete with two elongated eyes that widened upon seeing the familiar meat suit. “Eddie, that looks like Tel-Kar.” Wariness pervaded their voice, and they drifted in front of Father as if unconsciously preparing to protect him.  

“Uh well, dear, you remember, right?” was all it seemed Father could muster. Sleeper took the awkward silence to reveal their true form, materializing around Tel-Kar’s body until they stood at their full height about a foot and a half taller than the human in the room.

“It’s what’s left of Tel-Kar,” Sleeper explained. “I’m sure Father told you of our altercation.”

“Yes, but…” their parent trailed off and moved forward to press their forehead to Sleeper’s. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now. We missed you so much.” The deep, all-encompassing love was palpable in the low rumble of their Other Parent’s voice. Sleeper lifted a hand to rest against their cheek and extended a few tendrils to curl around their parent’s.

“I am,” Sleeper said. “I thought about you both every day.”

"We knew you would come back," the other symbiote said. "Eddie said you were free. That has always been all we want for you. To be better than us."

Sleeper couldn't help but internally wince at that last part. It was utterly humbling how much they both went through to better themselves, despite even Sleeper feeling their collective remorse over past actions. It was a shame they still felt they had to atone for it all. 

Sleeper wanted nothing more than to take it away. They paid their dues already.  

Sleeper stepped away from their parent and took in the studio apartment. The wallpaper near the tiny kitchen was peeling and the wall near their parents’ bed was broken, exposing the wooden foundation underneath. Father’s set of weights still stood near the window where Sleeper’s baby tank had been placed. A huge water stain was currently spreading across the ceiling like an ink blot, carrying the light scent of sewage.         

“Nice to see the place hasn’t changed much, Father.”

“Yeah…” Father rubbed the back of his head. “We decided not to move so we’d be easier to find if you needed us.”

“Eddie is right,” their Other Parent said. “We talked about it for a long time.”

Sleeper felt a swell of affection that sent a jolt through Tel-Kar’s otherwise inactive brain. Their earliest memories were ones of warmth and safety, wrapped in inky black tendrils and being looked upon with adoration through the same set of eyes. Those were the moments of completion Sleeper held dear to.

“Actually, I’m in need of information,” Sleeper said. “Information that may be…sensitive.” Oh boy, that was an understatement.  

Beneath the love their parents felt for them, neither succeeded in hiding the more unsavory parts of their life together. Even before they were born, Sleeper saw flashes of their dreams of other symbiotes, other children. They were monstrous and cruel, their actions tainted with hatred, but they were strong. A lot of those dreams had been red and coursing with black veins. Jagged teeth and spiteful laughter that was just as piercing bled into almost every space of their collective subconscious, and Sleeper had never forgotten. 

“What information do you need?” their Other Parent asked, supportive and eager to help. Sleeper felt a pang of guilt for what they were about to ask of them. This topic was going to be like pulling back a scab and watching the blood flow.

“Please, hear me out,” Sleeper began. “I need to find someone. Someone dangerous that I know neither of you are going to approve of.”

Father and their Other Parent didn’t try to hide the worry in their exchanged glances. Sleeper could only imagine the conversation going on between them. Their Other Parent was the more overprotective one, but Sleeper knew for a fact Father was going to take their side when Sleeper’s intentions were revealed. They braced themselves for the onslaught of questions, and sure enough they were not disappointed.

“Why?” Father was the one to ask, though the way their Other Parent slithered around his shoulders with eyes full of suspicion indicated the question had been theirs.

“There’s a threat approaching this planet. I need someone powerful and…disposable to help me take care of it.”

“Disposable? What kind of threat are you wanting to deal with?” Father asked.

“A creature of immense power,” Sleeper replied. “One I cannot handle alone. The one I need will not survive the battle.”

“Battle?!” Both Father and their Other Parent exclaimed in unison.

Poor choice of words, poor choice of words.

“You can’t go to battle!” their Other Parent said. “Too dangerous! Eddie, tell our child no!”

“There’s not much of a choice,” Sleeper said before Father could open his mouth. This was going about as poorly as expected, and it was going to get worse. “Please, I have to do this to protect you. The creature that is heading this way is enormous. A planet devourer, but I have a plan.”

Father reached upwards to cradle his partner to his chest, stroking their face with a soothing hand. “Who is it that you’re looking for?”

“My sibling,” Sleeper said. “I need Carnage.”

 ** _“NO!”_** Father’s body was immediately swallowed by the blackness of their Other Parent until Venom, in all his monstrous fury, was glaring directly into their eyes. His lips pulled back to reveal several rows of razor-sharp teeth. “ **Absolutely not!** ”

“But Father-”

 **“We said no!”** Venom’s eyes narrowed as a growl rattled from his chest. **“That creature is locked away where he belongs, and he’s going to stay there and rot!”** The word ‘rot’ was hissed in Sleeper’s face. **“You have no understanding of what destruction that animal will bring if you let him out of his cage! You are not powerful enough to control him, no one is, and he will not do what you ask! He will kill you the first chance he gets!”**

“I can do it!” Sleeper roared back, bearing their own teeth and leaning forward to meet their parent’s gaze. They had all the power needed to make this work, and they didn’t need protection. “I can use him! I can make him do whatever I want!”

**“You are being prideful and overconfident!”**

Sleeper could see their parents working in tandem in their combined form, and it was infuriating that they both had so little faith in the one offspring who actually knew what was best for them.

“I know what my capabilities are!” Sleeper snarled.

Venom opened his slobbery maw and let a low hiss of warning roll off his powerful tongue. His opalescent eye spots burned with anger, and despite knowing they were very much in trouble, Sleeper’s pride made them all too eager to power through.

“I have traveled through space with Tel-Kar’s knowledge! I have made countless allies and learned all about monsters that would eat Carnage for breakfast!”

 **“Learning and experiencing are two different things!”** Venom whipped his claws through the air as if to cut down Sleeper’s argument. **“We will come with you to eliminate this threat.”**

“No!” Sleeper exclaimed extending their arms to block the door. “No, it’s too dangerous!” Their parents had already been through too much. They didn’t need to fight another monster or sacrifice themselves for the greater good with no thanks from the people they did it all for.  

 **“Then it’s too dangerous for you,”** Venom said. **“No matter where you go, or what you do, we are your parents, and we are telling you no! That’s final!”**

“I’m not a baby!” Sleeper was sure the neighbors were hearing all of this, but thankfully Greg was probably just murdered, so demonic voices yelling about a space battle was lukewarm news in comparison. “I don’t need your protection or your permission!”

 **“Do not yell at us,”** Venom hissed. **“We didn’t raise you to be so insolent!”**

Sleeper swallowed back the roar building in their chest and suppressed the urge to throw the nearby coffee table across the room. Wrecking their parents’ apartment was unbecoming of the image they wanted to create for themselves, and certainly wasn’t the key to getting what they wanted.

 _It’s Calm Down Time_ , Sleeper thought to themselves, remembering the children’s book Dr. Steven often read to them as a baby after they discovered the joys of random screeching as an antidote to boredom. _Yelling at them is not going to get what you want. You knew Carnage was beyond a sore spot, what did you expect?_

As easy as it was to write off Venom’s anger as unreasonable, Sleeper knew beneath the anger, he was scared, and rightfully so. Carnage was a broken mess even the most brilliant minds of psychology couldn’t tidy up, but Sleeper had no interest in taming the beast, so to speak. No, their intentions for their sibling were nothing but pragmatic. Their ego may have wilted under Venom’s bruising, but they forced themselves to calm down momentarily enough to harness the chemicals flowing through their body.

Sleeper let their teeth be consumed once more by their flowing skin, and relaxed their stature. This wasn’t the desired outcome, but Sleeper would have been a liar if they said they hadn’t been prepared.

Something vile and ugly twisted their shared gut with Tel-Kar, but Sleeper had come to learn that sometimes the best possible outcomes were paved with hard decisions. Their parents were not going to give them Carnage’s location willingly, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

“This is the best possible outcome,” Sleeper said, their tone gentle. The invisible pheromones drifted from their pores and carried their words to their parents in a much easier to swallow line of rationale. “Carnage will never haunt your dreams again after this. I’m going to make sure he is destroyed along with the coming beast.”

Venom slowly, almost cautiously, stood up straight from where he had hunched over, as if prepared to tackle his offspring.

“He will never again cause destruction when I’m finished,” Sleeper said. “Trust me and what you’ve taught me. This is nothing more than killing two birds with one stone. Two very awful, loud vultures that keep carrying everyone’s kittens away.”

 **“Two birds with one stone,”** Venom repeated, woefully unaware of the thick fog of chemicals surrounding him, altering his brain’s decision down to the tiniest of synapses.

“Yes, Father,” Sleeper said, placing their hands on their parent’s shoulders and gently squeezing. “You’ve taught us well. We will protect this planet. I will protect you. You don’t need to carry this weight, because I will do it for you. Now, where is Carnage?”

The powerful beast before them melted away until only Father and the smaller face of their Other Parent were left. Sleeper found it easier to think now that they were no longer facing down a rallied force of parental rage. Instead he had two separate, conflicted expressions searching each other for answers that wouldn’t come. That was much better.

Father brought their Other Parent to his chest again, lips drawn into a tense line. A black forehead nudged the Father’s chin reassuringly and he let out a relenting sigh.  

Sleeper endured the same ugly, vile feeling from before, knowing neither of them were aware that they were not changing their minds by their own accord. They trusted their child, and despite this technical betrayal, Sleeper knew this was doing the right thing.  

“Ravencroft,” Father finally said. “The government has him locked up in the basement of the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, in some special containment chamber.”      

“Thank you,” Sleeper said. “Don’t worry. I have everything under control.” They reached out greenish-yellow hand to stroke the top of their alien parent’s head.

“Stay,” their Other Parent said through the purr rumbling out of their pseudo throat. “Go tomorrow night.”  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper finally meets their evil older sibling, and is more determined than ever to make sure he dies, all while making him as uncomfortable as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with misery siblings. Thank you so much for the kudos as they completely validate my need to write this mess! 
> 
> I should probably say you don't have to be caught up with the comics to follow this story. It's pretty self contained.
> 
> For those of you who don't know, Ashley Kafka is currently dead in the comics, but she's awesome so she's alive in this because I say so, even if she doesn't have a big role.

What a dump.

That was the first thing Sleeper thought when they arrived at Ravencroft. The second thing they thought after they camouflaged themselves and snuck past security was also, _“What a dump.”_

The massive building looked like a super-secret and shady government facility shat straight out of a Batman comic. Once you saw one creepy asylum, you saw them all. The stone that made its walls looked like they were a product of metaphorical darkness or soot. At the front of the building, a large globe shaped structure sat on the roof, and Sleeper for the life of them couldn’t understand what its purpose was other than to look menacing in a thunderstorm. The gloomy structure sat on top of a hill surrounded first by a decorative cast iron fence, then further in, several security checkpoints and actual barbed wire fencing.

All in all, if it weren’t for the heavy-duty combat vehicles and armed guards patrolling the grounds, it would have made for a pleasant stroll. The greenery was well cared for, and the ocean was in view only a couple miles away. The distant roar of the surf was carried by the salty wind, giving the natural part of the land a sort of gloomy aesthetic that went well with a mug of hot chocolate.

Too bad the government did what it did best and ruined it by creating a real life Mount Doom. The imposing building even made for a good Sauron's Eye.

Ah, literature references. Sleeper could never repay Dr. Steven for introducing them to Lord of the Rings on top of sharing his amazing taste in music. Alchemax was better for having him. 

As it stood, Sleeper was grateful they inherited improved camouflage from their parent, and quietly picked their way up the hill. When they reached the front door, all it took was a ten minute wait for someone to come through, and Sleeper slipped inside with no one the wiser. 

The first thing they needed to do was find the main lady in charge. After doing some surface research on their father’s laptop the night before, they discovered Ravencroft was a former sanatorium converted to accommodate Ashley Kafka’s methods to cure super villains. She clearly was a woman with balls of steel to deal with the likes of Carnage on a daily basis. Respect in that regard. 

Unfortunately for her, her success rate had been called into question and there were talks of having her replaced with another director. Sleeper found that information simply supplementary, but it made predicting their brother more interesting if he was at the mercy of someone pushed to their breaking point.  

Once they were inside, they were greeted by a massive lobby that barely looked renovated since the reign of tuberculosis. It was stark white with intersecting black tiles on the floor to add some personality, Sleeper guessed. A large staircase that had seen better days loomed in the back leading to the upper floors, and a huge circular opening in the ceiling was home to a gaudy iron light fixture straight from the 1950s. 

It cast everything in a sickly light that made Sleeper feel as if they were walking into a horror movie rather than a mental health facility. 

There were two rows of desks on either side of the room, complete with monitors that provided live video feed of every hallway and spare room. All of this was under the watchful eye of a hardened security staff.

The one that drew Sleeper's attention was a grim-faced man with dark bags under his eyes. He was balding with a slightly portly stomach, but the muscles of his arms showed even through his government issued security jacket. His lips were thin and lined with wrinkles and he smelled like cigarettes. Sleeper took a moment to peer a little closer at him and caught the sound of his erratic heartbeat. Guy needed to lay off the cholesterol if this type of stress was his constant state. 

Unable to resist, Sleeper took a precious moment to unsheathe their teeth and wave their prehensile tongue in the security orderly's face. His lack of reaction was beyond amusing, even if he couldn't see the invisible alien making fun of him, but Sleeper had a job to do, and they were too smart to get caught because they made themselves laugh. Reigning in their composure, they turned their attention back to searching the screens.     

This building was a maze clearly designed by a drunken chimpanzee with how much it took just to make sure none of the patients escaped. 

It took at least ten minutes for Sleeper to find the woman they needed. Dr. Kafka was stalking the halls in the monitor keeping tabs on the employee wing. They recognized her short, dark hair, and pretty brown eyes from the photos online. Unlike her easy, professional portraits, however, Sleeper saw nothing but anger and stress in every rigid move she made.

Sleeper couldn’t blame her. Being in charge of a place like this was a pretty big deal (her life’s work from what they understood) and now she was in the verge of losing her credibility on top of her career.

At least she’d have one less crazy to deal with until then. 

After a quick glance at they helpful map of the building on the wall, Sleeper began to make their way deeper into the building’s bowels and to Kafka's office. 

 

*******

 

Well, these files on Cletus Kasady were nowhere near as wholesome as _Calm Down Time_. Sleeper made a note to bleach their thoughts by revisiting the book now that their poor eyes had taken in the dumpster fire that was Kasady’s life.

First degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, suspected arson, animal cruelty, and the list of awful shit just kept going the further Sleeper scrolled down Ashley Kafka's computer screen.   

This was the madman who had their sibling. From graphic depictions of every kind of abuse under the sun, to undergoing countless treatments that seemed more like torture, it was no wonder their parents’ first born had gone mad upon bonding with this kind of human.

Still, this research made Sleeper aware that they still needed to think of a way to convince Carnage to come with them and actually be useful. There hadn’t been any luck reasoning with him, that was for sure. Over thirteen of the best psychologists, some of them employed by the FBI, never made a dent in getting a cohesive conversation.

 As it stood, Carnage was more likely to cut Sleeper down the moment they opened his containment chamber.

“What do you think, Tel-Kar?” Sleeper asked, turning Dr. Kafka’s head from her desktop to look at the drooling blue alien sitting next to them.

Tel-Kar didn’t have any insight to offer.

“Ugh, you’re way more useful when I’m in your head,” Sleeper muttered, clicking through more of Kasady’s file. The crime scene photos made Sleeper scoff and shake their head in begrudging amusement. “Writing _‘Carnage Rules’_ in your own blood mixed with the victims,” they let out a chuckle, “how extra do you have to be? No wonder he got caught.”

Again, Tel-Kar didn’t have anything to add.

“The host clearly has no self-preservation,” Sleeper continued. “No fear of death, either. His capacity for empathy is pretty much non-existent. Both parents are dead. Dad got the electric chair for killing Mom, so there’s no leverage there. And he hates our parents.” Sleeper drummed the Doctor’s painted nails against the desk in frustration.

“Hates humanity in general. Never had a friend in his life due to being anti-social. From what I’m reading, my sibling certainly isn’t going to leave him, so Carnage is a package deal. Honestly, Tel-Kar, how do you get someone like this to work with you long enough to accomplish anything?”  

Tel-Kar didn’t have to tell them that the simple answer was that you didn’t, but Sleeper was determined to get their one and done kill-shot. Their chemical powers were a good way to get initial cooperation, but in the guaranteed event Carnage changed his mind later, Sleeper and Tel-Kar were as good as sliced pepperoni.

Sleeper thought for a moment, searching Tel-Kar’s unfocused eyes for answers.

“You really are terrible,” Sleeper finally said when none came. Carnage had to die. Seemed like the humans were so preoccupied with the host’s tragic past to see there were better ways to make him useful, ending with taking him out of the equation.

Just as Sleeper was about to throw in the towel and wing it, something rather interesting in Kasady’s treatment plan caught their eye:

_Patient is to be deprived of sustenance to induce compliance._

They had gotten so desperate to get Carnage to talk they were starving him out. Now, that was convenient. It finally dawned on Sleeper. There was a way to get Carnage to work with them, at least long enough to feed him to the space monster heading this way. A hungry host meant a weakened symbiote. All it was going to take was some very careful strong-arming, and Sleeper was _very_ persuasive. They weren’t a gifted child for no reason.

 

*******

 

The double steel doors of Carnage’s containment chamber were framed by two huge monitors that showed the monster within in all of his red and black ugliness.

Sleeper quietly released a toxin from their skin that sent the two orderlies studying him straight into unconsciousness, before they dropped their camouflage and took in the scene.  

 _“I’m going to kill all of you!”_ Came the double-toned voice from the monitor speakers. _“My blood wants to kill you! I’m going to get out, and let my claws scrape the brains from inside your skulls, and it will be glorious! I’m going to burn this city to the ground and then the entire world! I am the executioner!”_

Did he ever take a nap?

Sleeper walked up to the desk of controls and gently nudged the orderly out of the seat. The unconscious man slumped to the side like a bag of sand. Sleeper took the seat and studied the panel. There were way more buttons than necessary, including a big red one with yellow and black striped tape around it. A thick panel of reinforced glass served as a protective barrier to keep it from accidentally being pushed.

So that was how they opened the chamber. Not going to do that just yet.

A microphone stuck out from the knobs and dials, with a green button underneath. It made sense now how they got the interviews. From the way Carnage stalked around the inside of the chamber, whipping his hooked tendrils about, nobody who went in would survive long.

Sleeper pressed the button. “Hello, Carnage.”

 _“Who’s out there?”_ Carnage’s frayed eye spots focused on the camera. Within their veiny whiteness, rage burned. The creature’s jagged mouth twisted in a grin consisting of sharp teeth and absolute lunacy. _“Your voice is different. Are you another psychologist?”_ A high cackle bled through the speaker system. _“Why don’t you come in and make yourself comfortable? I could use a snack!”_

“I’m not a psychologist,” Sleeper said. “But I do need to talk to you.”

 _“I ain’t saying shit unless you come in here,”_ Carnage said.

“Ah, well then you can just listen,” Sleeper said. “I’m your sibling.”

Carnage seemed to pause at this. His eyes narrowed and that crazed smile only sharped as he scoffed. _“Oh man, another one? I’m sure dear old dad warned you about me. Or maybe he didn’t.”_ Carnage walked over to the doors and ran the sharp tips of his claws down the metal. The red symbiote attached to him ruffled a bit at the screech, and Sleeper felt their own biomass twitch around Tel-Kar’s body. _“He’s not the nurturing type, much as he blathers on about innocents.”_

“No, he warned me,” Sleeper said. This was going to be exhausting, they could just tell.

Carnage’s tendrils flowed behind him like hooked whips as he continued his agitated pacing. _“And you’re here anyway? What could you possibly need from me?”_ He kept moving, those stark white eyes never leaving the camera. Sleeper was impressed he knew where it was and didn’t destroy it. Then again, he seemed to thrive off of attention and dramatics. Putting on a gruesome show for those surveying him was right up his alley. _“If it’s to kill dad, then just press that button and I’ll take care of him right after I gut you like a trout.”_

“There’s a threat,” Sleeper said, electing to ignore the trout comment. “Out in space. I want you to help me take care of it before it destroys this planet.”

 _“Nah,”_ Carnage said with an exaggerated shrug. _“Why the hell should I care?”_

“Because you live here?” Sleeper said, unable to hide the confusion in their tone.

 _“If it causes glorious carnage, then I’m fine with it.”_ Carnage’s awful saccharine grin reemerged. _“Let this whole fucking world burn! Let the beautiful blood flow like a river from Hell, as mothers weep over the corpses of babies, and men lay splayed open like tubes of red paint!”_

“Are you done?” Sleeper asked. “Look, I’m going to be honest. I’ve dealt with a lot of psychopaths and I don’t normally have use for them, but you’re my brother, and you’d be an asset. I know how strong you are, and I need that kind of strength to kill this thing.”

 _“Still not interested.”_ Carnage waved a dismissive hand.  

“Alright,” Sleeper said. “Nice talking to you.” They got up and prepared their pheromones. This was going to be just as difficult and stupid as they initially thought. They let the chemicals fill the room, and pondered their next move. This part was going to be risky, but if Sleeper was anything, they were confident.

 _“Wait,”_ Carnage said. _“You’re giving up just like that?”_

Sleeper returned to the mic. “You’re not interested,” they said. “I respect that. So, you can stay in there and I’ll find someone else.”

 _“Now, now, let’s not be hasty,”_ Carnage said.

“Oh? Change your mind?” Sleeper asked, feigning ignorance. They could see the gears churning in Carnage’s head, and it eerily reminded Sleeper of how their parents looked when they were having a private conversation with each other. Kasady’s file indicated he was uneducated, but he was definitely cunning, and no doubt having Sleeper’s sibling helping made him all the more so.

 _“What’s in it for me?”_ Carnage tilted his head not unlike a predatory bird.

“You get out of there for one,” Sleeper said. “There’s going to be a lot of things to kill where I’m going.”

 _“Hmm.”_ Carnage brought one sickle shaped claw to his chin. _“What happens after?”_

 _You die,_ Sleeper thought, but out loud they said, “Then, I don’t care what you do. I just need this planet intact.”

 _“You realize that I expect a ride back so I can continue my art. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”_ Carnage was doing a pretty convincing job of sounding intrigued, but Sleeper could pick up the subtle suspicion. He was very much not stupid when it came to people wanting things from him. It was annoying.   

“Then you’re Spider-Man’s problem,” Sleeper said. “Or Father’s. I don’t intend to stay after I finish this.”

 _“That’s pretty cold, little brother,”_ Carnage remarked, seemingly impressed. _“What kind of a person is your host?”_

“Not much of one,” Sleeper replied. “He doesn’t really say much anymore.”

Carnage seemed to mull that over until his eyes widened momentarily, and then contorted into the human equivalent of a disgusted frown. _“So, it’s just you in there?”_

“I prefer making my own decisions,” Sleeper said. “The host’s body is good for knowledge and mobility, but his voice is…unnecessary.”

Their sibling’s demeanor shifted from crazed bravado to something a bit more subdued. There was a calculated edge to the way he moved, and Sleeper knew this conversation had now become a metaphorical chess game. Carnage’s voice crackled over the speakers after another pregnant pause. _“If you don’t plan to stay here with Daddy Dearest, why bother saving this planet at all?”_

“Because, saving this planet means saving our father,” Sleeper said. “And honestly, you running around will give him something useful to do. He likes being a hero.”

_“You do realize I am more than just 'something to do’. I’m pretty much an apocalyptic threat on my own. So, you put me back on this planet, not only will I level this entire city, but I’ll tell Venom you were the one that let me out. I guarantee he won’t take kindly to you releasing a monster like me on the good people of New York. Because even if I do what you want, the moment I’m back on Earth, it’s going to be a bloodbath. I’ll absorb you to make myself even more unstoppable. Then you’ll be inside me the entire time I’m sucking Eddie Brock’s eyes out of his skull.”_

“Good plan.” Sleeper made a show of slow clapping by using Tel-Kar’s elbows to hold down the mic's button. “Color me impressed. How many times have you actually succeeded?”

_“Plenty of times! I’ve got a mountain of bodies under me the size of Everest.”_

“Like who?”

_“Entire populations.”_

“Anyone important?” Sleeper asked.  

 _“I…what?”_ Carnage opened his mouth and then closed it.

“I want to know. How many times have you killed Spider-man? I’m not interested in all the randos or some backwater town you wiped off the map. I want to know if you’ve managed to kill anyone worthwhile, because thus far this conversation has been pretty boring.”

_“I-”_

“How many times have you killed Venom, Black Cat? Hell, even J. Jonah Jameson?”

_“That’s not-”_

“Because the last time I checked, they were all still running around.”

_“I killed Doppleganger!”_

“Clearly not well enough. He got better.”

_“Eat my entire ass.”_

“As truly appetizing as that sounds-”

_“Excuse me, what?”_

“-to answer your question, Father will understand that I had to use some unconventional means to fix an unconventional problem. Like I just reminded you, they enjoy being a hero and I’m sure they would be proud of the sacrifice I was willing to make to save the planet.” That wasn’t quite true, but this asshole didn’t need to be privy to how they handled their parents.  

 _“Sounds like you have Dad wrapped around your finger.”_ Carnage’s chest expanded and he let out a guttural hiss. _“What makes you so special?”_

Was that jealousy? Sleeper couldn’t tell for sure, but it sounded like it. Then again, Kasady was good at mimicking emotions he didn’t feel to get what he wanted. It was how he avoided the death penalty after murdering eleven people when he was just a person, and then more after he bonded with their sibling.   

“I’m not a serial killer, for one,” Sleeper said.

 _“Well you sound pretty fucking crazy to me, and not in a good way. More like a suicidal way.”_ Carnage seemed to recognize that there was a power play going on, and Sleeper couldn’t help but grin as they recognized apprehension in his words. He didn’t know how to handle someone who wasn’t automatically afraid or pushed to anger from his taunting. _“What happens when I kill your precious Venom?”_

“You won’t,” Sleeper said as if answering a simple question.

 _“To hell I won’t!”_ Carnage yelled indignantly.

“I have certain precautions in place,” Sleeper said.  

_“Pfft, like what?”_

“Why would I tell you that?”

_“How do I know you’re not bluffing?”_

“You don’t.”

_“Then I call your bluff.”_

“Do you?”

_“Yes. No force in the world could keep me from ripping Dad’s head off the moment I see him.”_

“Well, then be my guest and try when the time comes,” Sleeper said, knowing Carnage was never going to see this planet again, let alone lay another slimy tendril on their parents.

Carnage stopped moving and continued his unblinking stare. Sleeper imagined most humans would be cowed at its intensity and even they felt slightly unsettled. Slightly. The pointed end of Carnage’s tongue flickered out from between his teeth, as if tasting the air.

 _“Alright,”_ he said. _“You’ve got yourself a deal, brother.”_

What a fucking liar.

“Nice to have you aboard,” Sleeper said as they slid the glass aside and pressed the button. The heavy door hissed and slid to the side. From within the darkness of the containment chamber, a cackle rang out.

“I can’t believe you fell for that!” Four black claws curled around the edge of the door, followed by the grinning face of Carnage. Sleeper stood back a bit, and waited, unperturbed by this betrayal. “Now, I’m gonna rip you apart and mail you back to Dad piece by piece!” Carnage let out another high-pitched, gleeful giggle as he took his first steps out of imprisonment…

…and promptly passed out.

Carnage’s face hit the ground with a thud, and his limbs splayed out like a demonic ragdoll. Sleeper grabbed one of the nearby chairs, thus causing another orderly to tumble to the floor, and sat down. Their red eyes took in Carnage’s crumpled form as the red symbiote’s surface rippled. A stalk of tendrils rose from Kasady’s back and twisted together to form a head, complete with a snarling face.

“What did you do to him?” the symbiote demanded, black teeth gleaming with saliva. “Why can’t I wake him up?”  

“It’s just a simple neurotoxin,” Sleeper replied. “He’s fine.” To prove this, they created a stimulant, and pushed it out through their skin.

The red symbiote slipped into Kasady’s back as he came to, pushing himself to his feet. He didn’t speak at first, and Sleeper assumed he was getting the play-by-play of what happened from his symbiote.

Then those evil eye spots fixated on where Sleeper sat, and he charged forward again with a shrieking roar.

Sleeper exuded the same neurotoxin and Carnage toppled over like a fainting goat, sliding forward on his face until he came to a rest about ten feet away from Sleeper’s feet.

“You know, you’re making this harder than it needs to be,” Sleeper said, creating the same stimulant to jolt the electro current in Kasady’s shared brain back to consciousness.

“Stop that!” Carnage shouted. “I’ll just keep getting closer!” His gaze focused on Sleeper’s smaller red ones, and he shot out a sharp, pointed tendril aimed directly at the spot between Sleeper’s eyes.

Upon passing out again, the tendril’s rigid shell seemed to melt and it sank to the floor like cooked spaghetti--just mere inches away from piercing Tel-Kar’s brain.

Sleeper got up and tucked the orderlies into the safety of a nearby grate. Father would not be pleased if they allowed Carnage to take his homicidal rage out on them. They then moved the chair back until they were just outside the doorway, plopping down again as if waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Shifting around Tel-Kar’s lungs in a sigh, Sleeper then released the stimulant again.

Carnage groaned and sat up, his eyes more unfocused than last time. He placed a hand to his head and stayed still for a moment as his symbiote seemed to struggle to filter out the neurotoxin. When he finally gathered enough of himself to get Sleeper back in his sights, an inhuman sound of exasperation emitted from his maw.

“Oh, come on!” Carnage’s tendrils whirled around him, slicing through anything nearby, including metal, as if it were warm butter. “You can’t keep moving back, that’s not fair!”  

“You’re being really immature about this,” Sleeper said, pretending to pick at their yellowish green claws.  

“Immature?!” Carnage shrieked. The bottom of his left eye spasmed as he stood up. “Why, you bull-headed prick! I’m going to show you who’s immature!” Carnage hunched over and crossed his lanky arms over his chest. Thin spikes of black-veined biomass rose out of his body like the quills of a porcupine, and with an enraged roar, he flung his arms to the side. The spikes erupted from his body like a field of missiles. The air around them whistled as they headed straight for Sleeper.

Sleeper merely extended a tendril of their own and used Dr. Kafka’s keycard to seal the door shut. Not a second after closing, it was impaled by a sheet of projectiles. “REALLY?!” came the muffled yell.

“Are you done?” Sleeper called back. “We can keep doing this, or you can hold good on your word and we can leave.”

“Fiiiiiiine,” came the groaned reply after a long pause. Sleeper shook their head and used the keycard to open the door again. It groaned as the projectiles impeded its progress, but they eventually snapped in half from the pressure and clattered to the ground.

Carnage’s shoulders rose and fell, his mouth open as he panted. The starvation technique definitely weakened him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try something else. Sleeper studied him warily, waiting for the next attack.

“You look pretty terrible,” Sleeper said.

“Well, that tends to happen when someone is starved,” Carnage spat. “I came into this place pissed off, and now thanks to Doctor Kafka’s state of the art mental health treatments, I’m pissed off and hungry.”   

“We can get you something to eat,” Sleeper said. “Can’t have you passing out on me.”

“Fuck you,” Carnage spat. He was incredibly aggressive, Sleeper noted. It was one thing to read about it, and another to experience it for themselves. They’d have to tread with caution lest they let their mind wander and end up sliced to confetti. Confetti that would no doubt be poured over their parents’ shared head if given the chance.                     

“It does get awful lonely in space.” Sleeper got up and pushed the chair to the side.

“Stop that!” Carnage yelled. “Quit making this weird, and don’t let your guard down.”

“Oh,” Sleeper said, exuding a much more potent neurotoxin that would have even the red symbiote knocked on its ass, “I don’t plan to.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoyed thus far! Carnage is super difficult to write and I'm crying. But hey, if you like what I write or want to help with this, then come hit me up on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper goes through the motions of breaking Carnage out of Ravencroft, and there are casualties that are totally not their fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments on the past chapter! I can't even begin to tell those reading how much a comment motivates me to keep writing. The disaster siblings are back in action and we're getting into more of the gore and dark humor. I'm still crying because I'm finding Carnage a lot harder to write than I initially thought. Hope you all enjoy.

Despite Carnage being severely underweight, he was still heavy. Holding their brother by one ankle, Sleeper felt as if they were scurrying around in circles dragging a carcass made of dark matter behind them. It wasn’t hard to get to the basement from Dr. Kafka’s office, but coming back to the floors above had sent Sleeper on a wild goose chase for the nearest exit. Did the floorplan change or something? It was probably a bad idea to rely on their memory when everything looked the same.

It was only a matter of time before they got caught at this rate. Sleeper couldn’t exactly camouflage Carnage as well as themselves.

Luckily the residents of Ravencroft were shut in vault-like rooms and weren’t permitted to see the outside halls. Sleeper’s enhanced hearing could pick up their screaming and threats, however, reminding them they weren't alone. Muffled and echoing like ghosts, the voices made wandering around these dimly lit halls even more eerie.

“I really should have thought this out better,” Sleeper muttered to themselves.

The sound of footsteps around the corner alerted them to what they knew was inevitable. _Shit, think fast. Father said you were smart!_ Still camouflaged, they dropped Carnage’s leg and hoisted him up by his underarms so he looked like he was standing just as security showed up armed with very large guns.  

There were twelve of them, and at their helm was the man from the front desk. Now, on top of being grim-faced, Sleeper could smell and taste the salt of his sweat. It was unpleasant, but it gave them useful data to use in order to prepare a neurotoxin powerful enough to knock them all out.  

“On the ground!” Grim Face shouted. To anyone else, he would have sounded controlling and intimidating, but Sleeper picked up a shrill edge to his voice that reeked of terror.

“Heya, fellas!” Sleeper said in the best accent they could manage. They shook one of Carnage’s limp hands in what they hoped was a convincing wave. “How about you put those guns down and let me mosey on through and I won’t kill ya!” Carnage’s head lolled back and Sleeper hastily righted it with a tendril. Nailed it.

“What’s wrong with him?” one of the officers muttered.

“Stay focused!” Grim Face said. “Kasady, get on the ground or we’ll be forced to shoot!”

“Let’s not jump the gun, cowboys!” Sleeper said, using an invisible tendril to move Carnage’s mouth. His body slipped just a bit and Sleeper let out a surprised grunt as he attempted to right the body into a more convincing standing position. “Just let me through, and you can pretend you never seen me!” Carnage would say seen instead of saw, right?

“I’m giving you to the count of three!” Grim Face shouted.

 _Think!_ Sleeper scrambled their thoughts for a way to buy enough time to produce a sleep pheromone.

“One!”

“Are those there guns sonic?” Sleeper’s voice cracked, much to their chagrin. 

“Two!”

“Think fast!” Sleeper did just that, and tossed Carnage’s body at the security team.

The result of this decision was immediate. The dead weight of their brother’s body careened into the man standing next to Grim Face. He fell back with a high-pitched shriek, knocking into the other men behind him, and sending them all tumbling down.

Grim Face’s fate was far worse. The claws of Carnage’s right hand sank directly into his face upon impact with an audible crunch of bone. Blood spewed forth like a fountain, and it splattered against the wall and ceiling in a gory display of crimson.

“Oh my God!” Sleeper exclaimed, relying on Father’s memories for a phrase appropriate for the situation. They released their thrown together pheromones to knock the unharmed men out and hurried over to Grim Face’s prone body. “That was just supposed to be a distraction!”

Blood continued to gush between the embedded claws, the flesh around them ragged and torn. Only one eye remained intact, and it stared up in frozen disbelief at the blotches of bodily fluid on the ceiling. The claw of Carnage’s pinky had managed to land perfectly between Grim Face’s lips, and had sliced through his cheeks to make what Sleeper thought looked like a particularly gruesome silent scream.

“Hold on, I’ll help you!” Sleeper took hold of Carnage’s wrist and pulled. A sound reminiscent of a stuck saw and a wet squelch was the only result. “Wow, these are really stuck in there.” Sleeper grunted as they gave another pull, putting their full strength into it, and using the man’s shoulder as leverage.

The claws came free with a moist crunch and pop. Sleeper dropped the hand, half lifting the man into a sitting position. “I’m going to get you to—Oh, he’s dead.” They immediately dropped the man and sat back on their haunches. "Crap." Father was not going to be happy about this.

The man’s face was totally mangled, and Sleeper pinched the bridge of where their nose would have been if they had one. Even unconscious Carnage still managed to kill people. Now what were they going to do? Sleeper spared one last look at the body and noticed something poking out of the man’s front pocket. Sleeper took it out and saw that it was a photo of Grim Face actually smiling with his arms around a beautiful woman and two children.

“Aw, he has a family,” they said fondly. “That makes me feel better.” Family wholesomeness reminded them of Venom, and how they vowed to protect him no matter what trouble it caused. They tucked the photo back into the man’s pocket and stood up, grabbing Carnage’s wrist and dragging him onwards.

Okay, back to finding an exit. They couldn’t walk back out through the front door, and wandering blind was going to get them killed. Releasing the patients was tempting, but freeing literal super villains from where they were safely confined was all kinds of stupid. They needed a way out that was discreet and not typically used by the staff.

 That’s when an idea hit them. Ravencroft was a sanatorium before it was an asylum. According to their research, that meant it had to have body chutes—or rather tunnels used to take the dead outside when tuberculosis finished its job. Excellent.  

It was back to the basement, then. Not so excellent.

After what felt like hours of dodging security by either hiding or knocking them unconscious with pheromones, Sleeper and Carnage’s unconscious body made it to their destination: a huge tunnel that slanted down into pitch darkness.

Remnants of stone stairs for living people were on the left side of the tunnel, while the right was smooth for gurneys and carts. Guess even the dead needed company on their way out. It certainly was creepy. Funny it was used to boost the morale of patients by disposing of bodies without them being seen. As morbid as that was, it was convenient.

What wasn’t convenient though, was that the tunnels were behind a barred door bearing an Authorized Personnel Only sign next to the room where Carnage’s containment chamber was.

Yeah, definitely needed to plan this out better. Sleeper chalked it up to the fact they were in a rush, and made a mental note not to be so stupid next time. They were better than that, and Venom was counting on them.   

“Safe travels,” Sleeper said before flinging Carnage down the smooth slope. They followed after him via the stairs, and found him sprawled in a bush growing at the exit of the crumbling tunnel. Sleeper turned around once they made it outside and let Tel-Kar’s body relax when they saw just how far away Ravencroft’s main building was. The body chute had taken them all the way to the bottom of the hill behind the building.

It was far away from the main road, but the woods before them offered enough coverage for the rest of their escape. The tunnel bought them some time, but not much. It wouldn’t take Ravencroft personnel long to come to the same conclusion Sleeper had once the pheromones wore off.

They removed Carnage from the shrubbery and dropped him on flat ground. There was no other choice but to wake him up. The red symbiote was also unconscious, but stayed formed around Kasady’s body in what Sleeper knew to be its last-ditch effort to protect him. Their Other Parent did the same for Father plenty of times before in Father’s memory.

“Why though?” Sleeper asked. They stared into the black of Carnage’s face. Looking at him now, Sleeper thought, with a bit of ire, that he looked more like Venom than they did. “Why Cletus Kasady? Why didn’t you leave him when they locked him up? Surely you could have escaped and found another host.”

“Because he’s my family.”

“Woah.” Sleeper stepped back as Carnage’s elongated eyes snapped open and he sat up slowly.

“Where Cletus goes, I follow.” Although the voice was the same, there wasn’t nearly the same type of energy in it as when Kasady was present. No, it was far more subdued, but flickering at the edges of his tone like a distant forest fire lurked an insanity of equal weight. Pure desire to hurt warred with strict calculation in the whiteness of his eyes. “Where there is one there is the other.” Carnage got to his feet. Sleeper let him.

“That wore off sooner than it should have,” Sleeper observed. 

“Our kind metabolizes toxins faster,” Carnage said. “So, what name has the old man given you?”

“I’m Sleeper,” Sleeper said.

“Fitting,” Carnage said. Sleeper hated to admit it, but they were sufficiently creeped out by just their sibling. The red symbiote’s words possessed articulation Kasady’s didn’t, and the shift was jarring. There was no longer anything human in Carnage’s expression. As much as Cletus Kasady committed every act of violence randomly, rage (a decidedly human emotion) was the driving force behind it all. There was none of that now. With Kasady unconscious, Sleeper could see that the need to kill was simply that: a need.

No anger or feeling drove it—that all came from the human their sibling was attached to. For this creature, brutally snuffing out life was such a core part of who they were, they could do so without feeling anything at all. It was akin to breathing or eating. This type of evil was frankly more overwhelming than Kasady’s cartoonish need for bloodshed.

“So, you’re Carnage,” Sleeper said, hyper aware of every move their sibling made, even while they charted a path to the woods.

“Red.”

“Beg your pardon?” Sleeper asked.

“My name is Red. That’s what Cletus named me.” Red said it with such reverence, as if what Cletus Kasady said was law. “I’m only Carnage when we are one.”

“Right…” Sleeper didn’t trust themselves to respond further. Even in just a few short lines of conversation, the level of devotion Red possessed for their host was apparent. Not even Father and their Other Parent were so closely entwined.  

 “Wake Cletus up. We can’t stay here for much longer,” Red said. “If you want me to help you, I better stay alive.”

“Working on that,” Sleeper said, tensing as Red began to circle them, gaze moving up and down Sleeper's body in an obvious attempt to size them up. Sleeper moved to stay facing them.

It didn't take an expert on hostile body language to know Red planned to kill them unless Sleeper thought of a plan to change their mind. Going off the assumption that their sibling possessed the same amount of self-preservation as their host, the fact that they were still in immediate danger mattered very little.

“You better think fast.” Red spread their claws and the soft _‘shnnk’_ of their razor edges sliding together made Sleeper extend their own claws. “Your fancy pheromones don’t work on me anymore. I know how to filter them out since you went all trigger happy earlier. Gave me plenty of practice. Bad to shoot your full load in the first round.”   

“First of all, not a bad incest joke." It was seasoned with just the right amount of creepiness. "Second of all, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sleeper said.

“Do what?” Red asked with a very unconvincing tone of innocence. The tips of their claws brushed the ground as they stalked Sleeper like a predator. Their frayed eyes crinkled at the bottom due to an alien parody of Kasady’s menacing grin. That was all it was, because there was no actual emotion there. No joy, no anger, just a motion born from habits they learned from Kasady. The chords of muscle in Red’s thighs tensed in preparation to spring.

“If you kill me, your host will die.”

Red stopped moving, and the grin faltered.

“The toxin that he breathed in won’t be reversed unless I make the stimulant, and you can’t filter it out. I’ve made sure of it.” It was a bold faced lie, but Red's hesitation was enough to convince Sleeper they were buying it. 

"Why can't I sense it then?" Red asked. "There's nothing in his blood. All of his biological functions are normal." 

"For now." Sleeper exuded a different type of pheromone to drive the point home. It permeated Red's soma and forced it to spike their initial fear until there was no way they'd take the risk of calling Sleeper's bluff. "It's dormant for now. Untraceable to even you."    

“Fix it,” Red growled, tendrils sprouting from their constantly shifting biomass. “Fix it now.”

“Not unless you cooperate.” Sleeper kept their claws ready, extending a few of their own tendrils in preparation for a fight. “I will make sure he never breathes again if you decide now is a good time to fight me.”

“Wake him up,” Red said.

“I don’t have time for this.” Sleeper peeled their lips back from their teeth in annoyance. “I lobotomized my own host; do you think I care about yours? We need to leave, now. So, make your choice, Red. Are you going to let him die by attacking me, or are you going to save him and come with me?”

The choice was a clear one, but Red still seemed conflicted without Kasady to confer with. The only answer Sleeper got was a dual-toned screeching, _"RHEEEEEE!"_  

Sleeper returned the screech, making sure every dagger-like tooth was visible. “Not used to making your own decisions, are you?” they growled.     

Red crouched, and their tendrils angrily twitched around them as they gave Sleeper a hideous look. Now the rage in their sibling’s expression was completely their own. It soothed Sleeper enough for them to ease their battle stance.

 _Looks like you’re more than an empty shell,_ Sleeper thought. Cletus Kasady was a very sensitive, but useful button that Sleeper was more than willing to exploit. “I’m getting impatient.”

“Alright, jeeze, you take yourself too seriously,” Red said, lifting a hand and standing up straight. “I won’t fight you, just wake him up.”

“Don’t try anything,” Sleeper warned. “That toxin is going to remain in his system until I make the antidote, but you can have him back for now.” Sleeper formulated the right pheromones and pushed them towards Red. It was a strange to watch Red’s individuality fade as Kasady’s consciousness reemerged from its dormancy. The rage was overtaken by disorientation mixed with concern as Carnage shook his head.

“What the hell?” he said. “Are we outside?” He pressed his palm to the side of his head and glared at Sleeper. “You fucker.”

“You’re welcome,” Sleeper said. “I broke you out. Now we can go. Are you wearing clothes under there?”

“No, why would I?” 

“Not even underwear?” Sleeper couldn’t hide their bewilderment. Even Father wore underwear while using their other parent as clothes.        

“…No?”

“Oh my God,” Sleeper said for the second time today. Something told them they were going to be repeating it a lot during the course of this ill-advised adventure, but Sleeper concluded there was enough to judge Cletus Kasady on without dwelling on the fact he seemed to see nothing strange about having an alien touching his twig and berries constantly.

“Can my sibling camouflage?”

“Of course she can!” Carnage snarled with unexpected defensiveness.

“She?”

“Yes, she,” Carnage said. “Don’t insult her abilities.”

“Whatever.” Sleeper shook their head, too exhausted to explain a symbiote’s lack of gender to a violent idiot. “Just have ‘her’ do it because if we stand here much longer, we’re both getting locked up, and I don’t want to be on this planet when the monster comes.”

“My symbiote tells me I don’t have much of a choice,” Carnage said. “You’re pretty thorough, I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks, now hurry up,” Sleeper snapped.

“Don’t get your panties up your ass,” Carnage said as the red symbiote receded from Kasady’s face. She reformed around the human’s body as a long-sleeved shirt, black pants and a vest, complete with red shoes that still retained the black veins. He was pretty underwhelming as person, Sleeper thought, and the starvation did nothing to help.    

Sleeper retreated into Tel-Kar’s body as well, reforming the trench coat and hat to hide the former kree soldier’s white hair and blue skin.

“Wow, are you serious?” Kasady stifled a laugh. “That’s your host?”

“Shut up,” Sleeper said.

“He’s literally a jacked blue alien. You’re totally not going to draw any eyes.”

“No one seems to care. Now, we need to go.” Sleeper shoved Kasady towards the woods. “Go.”

Kasady cast an evil glare over his shoulder. “You’re going to regret this.”

“I already do. Now move.”

 

***

 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Sleeper asked as Kasady stood on the side of the road with his thumb extended. Sleeper currently sat on a boulder, gazing up a beautiful tree that was home to several rascally squirrels.

They had been walking for almost a day, and although exhaustion wasn’t an issue, time was. They needed to be in space before the sun rose, and Sleeper couldn’t help but stare up longingly at the stars. Even without the threat to their parents, Sleeper longed to be among them again. The stars were freedom, and Earth would always feel like a cage.   

“Some pervert is always willing to take advantage of some hitchhikers,” Kasady said. “Besides, ain’t this something _you_ should have thought of before breaking me out?”

“I was just going to persuade someone to stop by throwing you in front of a semi,” Sleeper responded truthfully.

“I would not have appreciated that.” Kasady jerked his thumb faster as a car approached, and cursed as it sped by.  

Sleeper shrugged. “It’s not like it would have killed you.”

“Doesn’t mean it would have been fun,” Kasady said.

“Would have been fun for me.”

“You know, for someone who needs my help, you’re being a huge asshole.” Kasady turned to them, thumb still outstretched.

“Don’t act like you have feelings to hurt,” Sleeper said. “You’re literally a serial killer.”

“A serial killer that you need.” Kasady’s thick red eyebrows furrowed in a frown and his upper lip twisted into a sneer.

“I know you’re used to getting chance after chance from Spider-Man and the entire justice system, but this is a business arrangement,” Sleeper said. “I have no illusions as to what you are, so if I were you, I’d get a car to stop, because I have been _dying_ to practice my curveball.”

“Not before I throw you first!” Kasady shouted. “Don’t act like you have all the power in this arrangement.”

“God, just shut up,” Sleeper groaned. Even just listening through Tel-Kar’s ears made them wish for deafness every time Kasady decided to voice a thought, or worse, an opinion. “I’ve spent the last three hours listening to you bitch about Deadpool’s mouth, but here you are.” Sleeper gestured at him in obvious disgust.

“If you keep talking, I’m going to rip your tongue out of your mouth and stuff it down your esophagus!” Kasady yelled, taking a few threatening steps towards them.

“Aw, baby’s first big word!” Sleeper stood up from their boulder and mockingly clapped, not even bothering to hide the fact that they were itching to wrap their claws around Kasady’s throat and squeeze until his brains leaked out of his ears. “Standing ovation!”

Before the conversation could come to blows, a squeak of breaks alerted the pair to a pickup truck pulling up next to them on the side of the road.

“Oh, praise common stupidity!” Kasady yelled, throwing his hands in the air and hurrying over to the vehicle. Sleeper followed after him just as an elderly man rolled down his passenger window.

“You boys lost?” he asked. He had a plump face with kind brown eyes framed with horn-rimmed glasses. A New York Mets cap sat backwards over his greying hair, and Sleeper thought he looked like someone’s fun grandpa.

“We sure are!” Kasady said. “Appreciate you pulling over. My brother and I are trying to make our way back to the city. Our car broke down a few miles back and he lost our cellphones!” Kasady leaned into the window and whispered loudly enough for Sleeper to hear, “He’s kind of slow.”

 _I’m going to fucking kill him._  

“Your brother?” The man’s friendly gaze widened upon seeing Tel-Kar’s face and he nervously tugged at the collar of his flannel shirt. “He sure is, uh, blue.”

“Yeah,” Kasady said, feigning bashfulness. “Product of inbreeding.” Sleeper elbowed him roughly in the side and earned a warning elbow back. “We’re from Kentucky.” Kasady paused. “We’re also half-brothers.”

_Death is too good for him._

“Huh,” the man said. “My condolences.”

“Yeah, but he’s harmless, scouts honor!” Kasady was really laying on the hapless pedestrian act thick, and Sleeper wondered just how many times he pulled it off to lure his victims.

“Alright, well hop in,” the friendly old man said. “I’m going into the city anyway to buy my wife this fancy coat she’s been eyeing online.” Sleeper was so touched, that the murderous thoughts directed at Kasady were momentarily forgotten. What a truly kind human to offer such hospitality to two strangers, one of them being a humanoid alien.

“Thanks, pal.” Kasady got into the front, and Sleeper crawled into the back. It was amazing a vehicle like this had four doors. It was incredibly roomy on the inside and probably cost a fortune. Sleeper wondered just how much money this man had, given how humbly he was dressed in just jeans and a flannel. The interior smelled new too, and a bobble head of Mickey Mouse stood on the dashboard. It brought good energy into the space. Now they could relax and—

 _“AHHHHHHAH!”_ An agonized scream broke Sleeper out of their very brief relaxation as Red partially formed around her host's mouth. Black teeth chomped down on the junction of the man’s neck and shoulder, and a mist of blood spattered against Kasady’s face and the windshield as he ripped the flesh away. The gaping wound left behind spurted as Kasady swallowed the hunk of meat in a way reminiscent to an alligator.  

“Are you serious, right now?” Sleeper shouted. "Right in front of Mickey Mouse?"

The man pressed a hand to the wound and desperately grasped at the door handle. He spilled onto the street as soon as the door opened and he began to crawl, blood pouring from between his fingers.

“Finally, some good fucking food!” Kasady let out a hoot, and scooted across the front seat and got out to follow his crawling victim. “And here the government thought it was a good idea to defund Meals on Wheels.”

“P-Please…” the poor man managed to gurgle out, holding his free hand out as if it would be enough to stop Kasady from approaching.

“You don’t need to beg,” Kasady said. “But it sure makes it better.” He was upon the helpless man in an instant, and Sleeper slammed Tel-Kar’s face into his palm as the sounds of ripping flesh, crunching bones, and fading sobbing filled the otherwise empty stretch of highway.

When Sleeper looked up, Kasady was straddling the body and ripping into the man’s chest cavity with Red’s teeth. His hair and face were wet with blood, and he let out a few pleased sounds as Red’s long tongue wrapped around his fingers.

“You idiot, you killed him right in the middle of the road!” Sleeper stormed over to the body and just barely managed to keep from strangling Kasady upon seeing the utter mess. The elderly man’s ribcage was split open, and most of his bodily fluids puddled around him. The once friendly brown eyes were glazed over and wide open as if even in death, he was shocked that such a fate had befallen him.

“My lady and I were hungry. Besides, no one’s around,” Kasady said, reaching into the open chest and dislodging a lung to chew on. It was pink, juicy, and came apart tenderly between Red’s sharp teeth. The spongy texture of the organ caused other juices to drip down Kasady’s chin with every bite, and Sleeper felt their digestive salvia pool in Tel-Kar’s mouth. They couldn’t remember the last time they’d eaten.

“We’re barely a day’s walk from Ravencroft!” Sleeper said, shaking off their hunger in favor of righteous fury. “And you’re leaving a pretty big marker that we were here.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kasady said. “You’re not mad that I killed him, just that it’s inconvenient for you?” He cocked an eyebrow, his eyes hooded in smug amusement. Red’s mouth still covered the lower half of his face in a permanent grin.

“Oh, I’m blindingly furious that you killed him. Now move over, I’m hungry too.”

“Woah, what?” Kasady’s eyes widened, and even Red’s smile faltered.

“He’s already dead,” Sleeper explained. “Can’t waste him.” Sleeper grabbed an arm and nudged their brother with their foot. “Let’s get him to the side of the road.”

To Sleeper’s surprise, Kasady complied and grabbed the other arm and together they started pulling him behind where his truck was parked and still running.

“So, like, you aren’t concerned at all about getting his body back to his family?” Kasady sounded dumbfounded, and Sleeper frowned as they let the body slide down the short hill by the road. The man did a single roll, staining the dirt and grass red as he went. It truly was a gory, and grudgingly delicious sight.

“Why?” Sleeper asked. “That would be traumatizing for them.”

Sleeper was prepared to dig into the impromptu meal, but was blindsided by Cletus Kasady’s high-pitched cackle. It didn’t stop, echoing obnoxiously through the trees. The human hunched over and clutched his sides in what seemed to be great pain. “M-My chest,” Kasady gasped out between laughter. “I can’t fucking breathe!”   

“I fail to see what’s funny,” Sleeper said flatly.

“You…you have no idea how closure works, do you?” Kasady’s eyes were bloodshot and teary as he struggled to get a grip of himself.

“No, I do not,” Sleeper said. “And I don’t care.” They slid down the hill to the body and materialized their mouth around Tel-Kar’s before taking the remaining lung.

“You know, I pegged you for a goody two shoes, but you are seriously screwed up and I’m loving it,” Kasady said, making his way to crouch by the other side of the body.

“What do you mean?” Sleeper said around a mouthful of an innocent man’s lung.

“You’re eating a nice person!” Kasady said, making a sweeping motion with his hand at the gristly carcass. “He pulled over to help us! He was going to buy a coat for his wife, and now she’s going to be waiting up for him all night sick with worry!”

“Yes, and then you killed him, which I’m not happy about, but we’re going to save the planet, so his sacrifice is worth it,” Sleeper said. “Better to fuel us than to rot on the side of the road.”

“I take it all back,” Kasady said. “You’re the best brother ever.” Something akin to fondness settled over Kasady’s face, and Sleeper decidedly did not like it one bit.   

  

     

           

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count: 2 
> 
> Fun fact, there are indeed blue people in Kentucky! 
> 
> Thank you so much for getting this far! Let's be friends! I'm lonely, weird, and lacking social skills so you should come hit me up on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees Come scream to me about the current Venom run. I could also use a beta if anyone wants to volunteer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper reflects on their inherited trauma while going on an impromptu road trip with the source of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone for all of your kind comments. I'm overwhelmed by how kind everyone is being. Not only have your comments been sweet, they've been some serious quality and I love having some rad discussions about comics. So thank you! This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought, so Spidey and Venom will appear in the next one. 
> 
> Also thank you to everyone who offered to beta. I really appreciate it. Thank you to Warbles and deadlysupia for looking this over for me!
> 
> EDIT: So like, the formatting on this chapter got real messed up for some reason, but I fixed it so my world is no longer in flames! Enjoy!

Sleeper had almost forgotten how good a full belly felt. There were times out in space where food was limited, and they had to endure the constant sharp edge of hunger. Rationing food was a hard lesson Sleeper still struggled with from time to time, but for now they basked in contentment.

It almost made it hard to stay mad at Kasady. Almost. Sleeper knew their parents would have deemed this man an innocent, and in doing so, would have done a better job of protecting him from things like Carnage. Still, there was no bringing him back, and Carnage was going to pay for it with his life once they confronted the looming threat in space. Why waste the meat?  

There was nothing left of the man except for a few puddles of blood, and Sleeper was not about to lick it off the ground like some animal. Dr. Steven taught them better.

Kasady sat opposite of them, leaning back on his hands with an expression of smug contentment. Red was no longer present externally, save for the clothes Kasady wore, but Sleeper got the impression that the two were having a silent conversation. Sleeper had zero interest in what that conversation was about, but if they had to guess, it was probably something gross, stupid, or a combination of both, like how many thumbtacks it would take to make a person bleed out.

Pressure built up in Tel-Kar’s gut and Sleeper opened their mouth to let out a burp.

“Nice,” Kasady said, giving a thumbs up. He then mimicked the action with his own, drawn-out belch. It lasted a good five seconds and managed to echo slightly. Sleeper was grudgingly impressed. “But that’s how a real man lets one rip.”

“I’m not a man,” Sleeper said. “I’m a sentient ball of goo inhabiting a body that happens to be male.”

“Whatever.” Kasady rolled his eyes and stood. “Well, now we have a free truck with dinner, so I think a ‘thank you, Cletus’ is in order.”

“I’m not thanking you for killing an innocent person.” Sleeper stood up as well and headed over to the still-running pickup truck.

“You literally ate his butthole,” Kasady said.

“Because you wouldn’t touch it,” Sleeper said. “Waste no part of an animal. It’s disrespectful to their sacrifice.”

“ _Wow_ , so now he’s an animal.” Kasady crossed his arms and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“He’s not much of anything now,” Sleeper said. “Until Red and I drool what’s left of him out.” They poked around the front seat and Sleeper shook their head when they saw Mickey Mouse hadn’t been spared by the arterial spray.

“What the actual fuck?” Kasady’s shrill voice made Sleeper turn their attention from the soiled mouse to where Kasady stood at the truck’s back seat.

“What are you…?” Sleeper trailed off when they saw what Kasady was holding. In his right hand was a pair of fluffy handcuffs and in his left was a roll of duct tape.

“This shit was under the seat,” Kasady said. His wide, green eyes brimmed with horror as he put the items down and continued his investigation into the back seat. Sleeper made their way to stand next to him, their interest piqued as Kasady moved some clothes to the side and pulled out a nondescript brown shoebox labeled ‘mementos.’ He looked over at Sleeper and his Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Holy shit. Should we open it?”

“Are you kidding?” Sleeper asked, taking the shoebox from Kasady’s hands. It had substantial weight to it. “I have to know.” They opened the box and peered inside to find stacks of neatly filed polaroid photos. Sleeper drew one out and saw that it was a candid snapshot of a slim man with red hair walking out of a grocery store. Whoever the man was, he seemed to enjoy having his picture taken judging by his almost flirtatious smile.

They felt Kasady place his hands on their arm to look over their shoulder. “Oh, my God.” There was that phrase again. Kasady reached past him and snatched a portion of the photos. He began to pace in an agitated circle as he flipped through the polaroids, the horror and disgust on his face growing.

“What?” Sleeper asked, putting the box down on the seat. “What are they?”

“See for yourself,” Kasady said, handing the pictures over. Sleeper flipped through them and let out the low rush of air being held in Tel-Kar’s lungs. Each one was a picture of a different man, but they all had several things in common. They all had red hair, and all of them seemed to be playing coy for the photographer while posing. The last picture in the stack had a note written in permanent marker:

 

_Hope you had a good time, Chubby. Thanks for the allowance, and I hope to play again soon! XOXO - Jack_

 

“No way,” Sleeper murmured. They handed the photos back to Kasady and fished a fresh stack from the box, only to have their suspicions confirmed. Every single one was a red-haired man with a roughly similar build to Kasady. That’s when Sleeper noticed a pink sticky note jutting out as a divider between stacks. Sleeper looked over to Kasady, who had stayed at Sleeper’s side. They met each other’s eyes in a silent question. Should they look?

Even Red materialized a face from Kasady’s shoulder in a swirl of thin tendrils to see for herself.

Kasady was the one to reach for the stack, his fingers trembling slightly. He slid a few photos out and spread them like a hand of cards.

Upon seeing the contents, in a moment of perfect unison, where all alternate versions of themselves from different universes aligned, both Cletus Kasady and Sleeper screamed. Kasady dropped the photos and reeled away, wildly shaking his hands as if they were covered in filth.

“That’s so fucked up!” Kasady shouted. “And that’s coming from me!” He reached up to cradle Red’s face to his chest. “Red’s traumatized now!”

Sleeper didn’t dare pick up the offending pictures and instead climbed into the truck’s backseat and found the bundle of clothes Kasady had pushed out of the way to find the box. They pulled them out and found that the bundle was actually a single brightly colored clown costume complete with a frilled collar and polka dots.

They turned to Kasady and Red and held out the garment, mouth agape and speechless. They had just eaten a guy with a fetish for redheads and clowns. Sleeper forced Tel-Kar’s throat to swallow and when they spoke, their voice came out hoarse as they struggled to remember how to work their host’s vocal chords. “He pulled over because he wanted to make love to you while wearing this.”  

“That is the _absolute wrong_ _phrase_ to describe what he wanted to do to me!” Kasady said, running soothing fingers along Red’s face. Even she seemed shaken by the disturbing contents of the photos, curling a few protective strands around Kasady’s face and neck.

Sleeper stared at the offending garment for a good long while, wondering how the hell they ended up here. Stranded on the side of the road holding a clown costume in the company of a serial killer with homemade pornography blowing away in the wind was not how Sleeper imagined their noble quest of protecting their parents going. It was like something out of an obscure art film Dr. Steven would have liked. The absurdity hit them all at once and a smile forced its way onto Sleeper’s face.

“I-I can’t.” They erupted into peels of laughter, freeing one hand to clutch at their chest in a poor attempt to soothe their lungs. It was as if Tel-Kar’s brain short-circuited, recycling images of the clown costume to bring forth a surge of dopamine.

The chemical high made their host’s otherwise dormant brain latch desperately to the overwhelming emotion. Sleeper found themselves losing their grip on Tel-Kar's involuntary reaction to the rush of endorphins. “H-He thought you were a prostitute!” Sleeper managed between fits of laughter. “He thought I was your pimp!”

“That’s not funny!” Kasady shouted.

“Can you imagine? The honking that would have occurred?” The sound of a bike horn played in Sleeper’s mind, and paired with the clown costume, their laughter became near hysterical. “Every thrust, honk, honk, honk!” Sleeper punctuated every ‘honk’ with a thrust of Tel-Kar’s hips to demonstrate.    

“Shut up!” Kasady’s pale cheeks turned red as he bared his teeth in an attempt at a threatening snarl. “I wouldn’t have done it!”

“He had an alter ego named Chubby!” Sleeper wailed, leaning against the backseat of the truck as tears forced their way out of Tel-Kar’s eyes. “We got picked up by Chubby the Clown because he wanted to have sex with you! I can’t breathe!”

“I hope you suffocate!” Kasady snarled. “What are you, twelve?!”

“Okay, okay,” Sleeper breathed out, clenching their teeth against another laughing fit. “But have you considered,” they paused to take a deep shaky breath.

“Have I considered what?” Kasady asked.

“…Honk?”

Kasady’s body was immediately engulfed by his symbiote. He raised his arm, and the viscous crimson tendrils warped together in a meaty chunk of tissue that flattened itself into the blade head of an ax. He brought it down with an enraged dual-toned shriek. Metal screeched as the tip of the blade punctured the roof of the truck, inches away from Sleeper’s head.   

“I take what I said before back! You're a shit brother, and unless you want to die, you better shut the fuck up!”

“Alright, alright.” Sleeper raised their hands in a peace offering. “Calm down.”

“Don’t say it again!” Carnage roared.

“Say what?”

“You know what!”

There was nothing but the wind through the trees and the stars shining in the night sky as Sleeper gave a malicious gin with their own serrated teeth.

“Honk.”

Carnage let out a bellowing roar that could have raised the dead and then killed them all over again with how much venom it contained. He ripped the blade out of the roof of the truck and swung again at Sleeper’s head. Thankfully, Tel-Kar’s vast knowledge of hand-to-hand combat made Sleeper instinctively catch the weapon between two hands. Carnage strained against them, white eyes narrowing into vicious slits.

“I mean it, stop making fun of me!”

“Alright!” Sleeper yelled, no longer amused. “A clown wanted to pay you for sex. It’s not a big deal. Insecure much?”

“You’re making fun of me!”

“I’m making fun of the situation. Come on, if it were me, you’d think it was funny!” Sleeper pushed back against the blade, arms trembling with the effort of keeping it from going through their head.

“But it wasn’t you, it was me, and it’s **_NOT FUCKING FUNNY!_ **”

Sleeper turned their face away as a few strands of spittle flew out of Carnage’s mouth and splattered against their cheek.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Sleeper said, letting their pheromones leak from Tel-Kar’s pores to soothe Carnage’s agitated brain, and by extension, Red, who they knew amplified everything. She may have taught herself to filter out the pheromones that caused unconsciousness in herself, but she didn’t have the knowledge of Sleeper’s more persuasive powers.

This was quickly getting out of hand. They knew Carnage had a temper with a hair trigger, and they needed to get moving now. A brawl would eat away at what precious time they had to save earth from its demise. Better to humor him for now, no matter how much fun it was to antagonize him. “It’s okay. We ate him. He’s gone. We have something more important to focus on now. But you need to calm down.”

Carnage gave them a poisonous stare, but Sleeper felt the strain on Tel-Kar’s muscles ease as Carnage stepped back. “You’re real lucky I didn’t decide to cut you in half.”

“Great,” Sleeper said. “And I won’t have to pull the kill switch on that toxin inside you. Now that’s settled. Can you drive?”

“Yeah.” Red peeled away from Kasady’s face and reformed as his clothes once more. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be aware that he hadn’t changed his mind on his own accord. He may not have been book smart, but Sleeper knew better than to reveal how persuasive they could be. “I used to steal cars for a living.”

“Wait, what?” Sleeper didn’t remember reading that in his file.

“Yeah, turns out the whole serial killer thing doesn’t really pay well,” Kasady said with a shrug. “So, I stole a few cars from rich people for a few Brooklyn gangs.”  

“That wasn’t in your file,” Sleeper said.

“Well, I never got caught,” Kasady said.

Sleeper couldn’t fathom how Cletus Kasady managed to commit grand theft auto and not get caught, considering he showed absolutely no regard for discrepancy when he went on an eleven-person killing spree. Did he just get bored and decide prison would be better?    

“Okay, well let’s get this show on the road,” Sleeper said, hurriedly getting into the passenger seat. Kasady got into the driver’s side.

“So, where did you park your space ship or whatever?” Kasady asked as he pulled off the side of the road.

“I hid it in Central Park,” Sleeper said.

“Central Park?” Kasady asked. “How the hell did you get all the way out here?”

“I took a cab,” Sleeper said.

“How did you have the money for that kind of cab fare?” 

“Very carefully." Sleeper refused to mention that they had used their powers to convince the driver that he needed to stick it to the Man and go on a joyride to a criminal asylum before pushing the cab off a cliff once he dropped Sleeper off.

“For the record, that’s not a good answer,” Kasady said.

Sleeper didn’t comment.  

They were a good hour and a half outside of the city, and Sleeper took the time to stare out the window and think. There was an unpleasant feeling roaring through their body when they thought about their parents. Part of them questioned whether taking this risk was actually the right thing to do, and whether or not strong arming their parents into this was worth it.

It had to be, though. There was no other option. Even being free among the stars, Sleeper was constantly plagued by Venom’s guilt and the deep pit of empty sadness that couldn’t be entirely concealed by love. Although Eddie and their Other Parent tried to shield them from the details, the horrors they committed left scars that Sleeper bore the residual pain from.

Their earliest memories of safety wrapped in Venom’s tendrils were soured by the horrible heaviness of Venom’s past. It was worse knowing that the only source of pain they knew of for sure currently sat next to them.

Other than Carnage, all they had to go off of was the constant feeling of needing to be better than the spawnlings before them. They needed to be the one to fix every awful feeling that bled from their parents into their newborn mind.

The evening before they left for Ravencroft had cemented that their parent’s happiness was tied directly to their actions.

During the night, Father and their Other Parent had retreated to the bathroom where they thought Sleeper couldn’t hear and spoke in hushed tones to each other about the ramifications of giving them Carnage’s location.

“Don’t like this, Eddie,” their Other Parent said.

“I know, I know, I’m starting to think it was a bad idea to tell them.”

Sleeper had taken the opportunity to separate from Tel-Kar and perch over the entryway of the bathroom to listen closer, keeping their biomass camouflaged and scent untraceable.

“They will get hurt. Carnage will kill them.” Their Other Parent didn’t usually externally appear for a conversation, but Father always did need to have important talks face-to-face. When Sleeper peeked into the cracked door, they found Father sitting hunched on the toilet, with their Other parent manifesting a slender upper body to put their hands on his shoulders.

“They seem to have a plan,” Father said. “We should trust them.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and Sleeper felt that unpleasant heaviness clouding their mind. Father put his face in his hands and let out a sigh. “We should trust them.”

“Not about trust, Eddie,” their Other Parent said. “About getting hurt. Having second thoughts as well. Can hear yours too.” Their Other parent lowered themselves so that they were level with Eddie’s face. They leaned forward and pressed their forehead to Eddie’s, their eyespots disappearing into blackness as they closed them. “Sleeper is our last chance. Our last chance to have a child better than us.”

“I know all that.” Father raised his head and held their Other Parent close. The action was tender and apologetic all at the same time. He pressed his lips to one of their Other Parent’s hands. “Sometimes I think it’s too late for us.” He sounded so defeated, so tired, worried. Sleeper wanted more than anything to convince their parents without the temporary fix of chemicals that these feeling were unnecessary.  

“Want to do something right, Eddie,” their Other Parent agreed. “We want give something better to the world than the monsters we created.” Their Other Parent placed both hands on Father’s cheeks and gazed into his weary eyes. “Sleeper will not be a monster. Sleeper is better.”

In that moment, Sleeper’s mind brought forth the first face they ever saw; the face that tortured them even when they were growing from a seed within their Other Parent’s body. The red and black creature of claws and maliciousness was a virus spread through the three of them, infecting and corrupting the familial love they shared. Carnage’s face used to terrify them, and it was that face that brought them back to the prison of earth.

Now, Sleeper was older and had traveled the stars, honing their skills for the very purpose of doing away with the memory of that monster. Even if they didn’t know the details of their parent’s crimes, if Carnage was gone forever, Sleeper could finally rest easy and not be chained to their parents by shared trauma. They all could be happy at last. Their parents finally had a child they could count on and be proud of.          

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Kasady’s voice brought them back to the present. Sleeper gave him a sideways glance but didn’t bother to answer him. “Very riveting conversation.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sleeper deadpanned. “Especially not with you.”

“Aw, why not?” Kasady said, his tone deceptively friendly. Sleeper knew what he was doing. It was the oldest trick in the book. Befriending your captor was a good way to get them to lower their guard, and it wasn’t going to work. “We’re brothers.”

“Only by blood,” Sleeper said.

“Ain’t that all that matters?” Kasady asked.

“No.”

“Well, you’ve been awfully quiet.”

“Because I don’t like you!” Sleeper snapped. “I think I’ve made it clear that I didn’t break you out to be your friend, or get to know you. The only thing you’re good for is killing things, and I need you to kill something. That’s it. I don’t want to bond with you.”

“Sheesh, who hurt you?” Kasady asked.

“None of your business.” Sleeper went back to staring out the window as trees and buildings passed by the closer they got to the city. An uncomfortable draft wafted through the truck’s cabin due to the gaping opening left by Carnage’s ax.

“So, we’re just going to sit here in silence?” Kasady asked after a while.

“That would be preferable, yes,” Sleeper said. “Considering you tried to cut me in half earlier.”

“You were making fun of me,” Kasady muttered. “I hate it when people make fun of me.”

“Cry me a river and drown in it.”

Nothing was said between them for a long while, and Sleeper resumed staring out the window to stew in their own thoughts. They were not going to let Carnage of all people get into their head. The genetic memory passed to them from their parents showed them just who Cletus Kasady really was. No matter how friendly he acted, he was a monster, and once he was gone forever, Sleeper could finally, truly be free of the shackles of their parents’ crimes.

Eventually, they hit a bigger highway that led into Queens and finally the Grand Central Parkway that would take them through Brooklyn. Sleeper reached over to the dial and turned on the radio. Instead of the awful country station they were expecting, it was some news station, and the man’s voice was urgent and terrified.

 

_-say Cletus Kasady, also known as the super villain Carnage, has escaped incarceration from a maximum-security government asylum. The facility has issued a statement that they have assembled an anti-Carnage task force to combat this looming threat, and FBI officials believe Carnage to still be in the greater New York City area. As a result, all residents are urged to stay in their homes._

 

“Great, you have a task force,” Sleeper said. “Even more reason we need to get off this planet and fast.”  

“Well, I’m kind of a big deal,” Kasady said proudly. “I’m a one-man apocalyptic threat.”  

“Good for you,” Sleeper said sarcastically, accompanying the quip with an eye roll.

“You know, one of my prison psychologists, a lady I think, said that bottling up your feelings causes spikes of aggression,” Kasady said.

“Oh, is that what your psychologist said?”

“Yeah, and you should be open about your feelings. I was. I told her about how I killed my mom’s dog—”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Sleeper muttered under their breath, pinching the bridge of Tel-Kar’s nose.

“—because she loved it more than she loved me.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“The sarcasm sure is cute, but it really helped me, because right after, I broke out of Ravencroft and took her hostage and we had a great time! Super cathartic. Reminded me of the feeling I got after I pushed Nana Kasady down the stairs. Now that was an emotional cleanse. Too bad I only had one Nana to push, because she didn't exactly, well, live after the first time.”

Sleeper wearily glared out the window and saw a semi truck pull up beside them. Kasady was still talking about the importance of sharing feelings, and the growing bundle of rage Sleeper carried in Tel-Kar’s chest finally broke.

“Hey, Cletus,” they said as they rolled down the passenger window and stuck their arm out.

“What?”

Sleeper curled their fingers into a fist and pumped it up and down a few times until the semi let out a long loud—

**_HOOOOOONNNNK_ **

        

                 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you've gotten this far come chat to me on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees. Next time we have a car chase set to Wacky Saxs! I really appreciate every comment and kudos. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. ;u;


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A massive car chase happens as Carnage and Sleeper bulldoze their way through the streets of New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you guys so much for your wonderful comments and kudos. They really kept me going trying to write this chapter, which was an absolute struggle. I have to thank Warbles and deadlysupia for listening to me bitch for the past few days. They're the best and you should check out their stories. 
> 
> Also bluedeeda on tumblr messaged me with a song rec for the travel portion of this fic. Southern Nights by Glen Campbell.

 

_In closing, we remind you if possible to remain indoors. Report all sightings of Cletus Kasady to the New York Police Department, and do not approach._

 

The broadcast alerting the public of Carnage’s escape ended as the semi horn blared. Before the horn’s grand finish, the smooth voice of an older man came over the radio.

 

 _Welcome to Classic FM, New York’s premier station_ _for all classic music._ _Next up, is a beautiful piece composed by Franz Schubert titled, Ave Maria._

 

A melodic, gentle song filled the truck's cabin upon the completion of the honk.

From that moment, everything happened in slow motion. Sleeper opened their mouth as Kasady’s entire body stiffened and his expression twisted into a mask of fury. His gaze snapped to the semi beside them. The tip of Sleeper’s tongue touched the roof of their mouth in what was the first syllable of a long drawn out ‘no.’

Simultaneously, Kasady extended an arm across Sleeper’s chest and Red’s biomass rushed forth like a billowing storm cloud. She shot out of Kasady’s hand in a massive wave of red and black tendrils, shattering the stolen pickup truck’s passenger window and entangling in the semi’s front wheels.

By the time Sleeper managed to round out their mouth out to yell out the desperate ‘ooooo’ of the ‘no,’ Kasady jerked his arm up. Red’s tendrils swelled and snapped upwards like the end of a whip. The semi truck’s four front wheels squealed in protest. The tractor unit rose into the air; Its trailer following after it.

The semi went vertical, rising as if beckoned by the heavens. Sleeper could only watch in horror as it flipped backwards. “Ave Maria” was momentarily drowned out by the sound of two thousand pounds of metal and glass crashing down onto the highway. Red released her hold on the truck and zipped back to reform the sleeve of Kasady’s shirt.

“Cletus!” Sleeper shoved Kasady’s arm away.

“What?” Kasady asked in annoyance. The breaks of the cars behind the semi squealed as their drivers attempted to swerve out of the way of the wreckage. Crash after crash indicated they were unsuccessful.

Kasady slammed on the gas pedal to speed ahead of the massive pile up. The swell of “Ave Maria” rose over the cacophony of screeching rubber and crushed aluminum. Sleeper turned to look out the rear window and flinched with every deafening bang of metal on metal. The destruction was enough to make them sit back in their seat and stare at the windshield. The lines of the freeway zipping past barely registered in their mind.

“Are you mad at me?”

Kasady’s question made Sleeper numbly turn Tel-Kar’s head to take in their brother.  

“You just caused a massive accident on one of the busiest highways in New York,” they said tonelessly. “Why would I be mad?”

“Oh good.” Kasady let out a breathless laugh. “I was sensing some tension.”      

“Only some?” Sleeper hissed through clenched teeth.

“Ah, so you are mad,” Kasady said in what he dared to be disapproval. “See, this is what I’m talking about. You aren’t honest with your feelings, and you should be, because my fifth psychologist, Dr. Pazzo—who was a total babe, by the by —said that if you aren’t honest with yourself, it can cause you to act out in undesirable ways.”

Sleeper found they could only stare in utter disbelief. This lunatic was really trying to lecture them after he probably just killed a dozen people.

All because he was insecure about a clown wanting to fuck him.

It led Sleeper to believe that perhaps they were too hasty with this plan. They weren’t surprised Cletus Kasady was violent. No, that was to be expected, but he had been out of captivity for less than a day, and already the bodies were piling up. Literally. Directly behind them.

Sleeper looked at Kasady’s profile again. He was thin, but Venom’s memories of Carnage in his prime showed that even at an ideal weight he was more lithe than bulky. His bright red hair hung in lifeless waves around his face and down his neck, and stubble coated his gaunt cheekbones. His green eyes were sunken, and dark bags hung beneath them like bruises. Ravencroft hadn’t taken very good care of him hygienically either.  

It would be so easy to just end this now. Both Kasady and Red were weak, even with Chubby the Clown digesting in their shared gut. Sleeper could form around Tel-Kar and bite his head off before Red had a chance to react. They allowed themselves to imagine Kasady’s skull crumbling between their teeth, the salty tang of his cerebral fluid gushing into their maw, and his fucked-up brain turning into rubbery paste as they chewed. By Eddie Brock’s god, it would be glorious and satisfying all at the same time.         

But then who would Sleeper sacrifice to the monster coming to eat the planet?

It wasn’t going to Venom. It was _never ever_ going to be Venom.

It wasn’t going to be Sleeper either by the sheer fact Venom _needed_ them to be alive and thriving.

It had to be Carnage. Anyone else was the wrong choice.

So instead, Sleeper popped the glove compartment open and discovered a crisp, well-maintained photo inside. A portly older woman wearing a frilly apron smiled up at them, and Sleeper shook their head in disappointment. Chubby the Clown did have a wife; one he apparently cheated on regularly. Sleeper lifted their lip in disgust. Beyond the picture, the only other thing inside was an overstuffed manila envelope. They took it out and opened it to find a wad of fifty-dollar bills inside.

“Woah, the clown had some shady shit going on,” Kasady commented.

Sleeper startled a bit at his jarring voice, feeling as if their soul had been slammed back into Tel-Kar’s body. “How do you figure?”

“No one in today’s world travels around with that much cash unless they don’t want their purchases tracked,” Kasady said. “I'm guessing that’s what he used to pay his prostitutes.”

“And he looked at the face of his wife every time.” Sleeper counted the bills and shook their head in disbelief. “There's 1500 dollars here.”

“Sweet, let’s get donuts!” Kasady said.

“Are you serious?” Sleeper asked.

“Yeah, there’s a really good place in Brooklyn that’s been there since I was a kid,” Kasady said. “I used to steal money from my mom’s purse and go there when my dad would beat her.” His tone was blasé, as if domestic abuse was something run-of-the-mill in every person’s childhood. Sleeper wasn’t sure if it was depressing, or just another symptom of Kasady’s lack of emotional intelligence.

A loud explosion from behind them shook the entire frame of the pickup, causing Mickey Mouse’s bloodied head to wobble erratically. Against their own better judgement, Sleeper turned in their seat once more to see the billowing flames and smoke erupting into the sky from the semi truck’s smoldering corpse.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” It was in their best interest to get off the highway before the emergency responders arrived anyway. “Get chocolate. Red and I could use some phenethylamine.”

“I said I wanted a donut, not a panini,” Kasady said.

It was too late to turn back now, Sleeper reminded themselves. They were in too deep.

 

***

 

Kasady navigated the streets of Brooklyn as if he had a GPS in his head. He drove like an asshole, shouted at traffic, and flipped the bird constantly. A small Honda attempted to get into the lane in front of them and Kasady slammed on the gas to block their way, nearly causing another accident in the process.

“Hey fuck you, pal!” the driver of the Honda yelled after rolling down his window.

Kasady wasted no time in rolling his own window down to raise his middle finger. “Right back at you, you fuckin’ schlub!”

What language was that? Sleeper blinked at the shift in accent. Up until this point Kasady had been talking like he was from the deep south, but this Brooklyn twang seemed more natural to him.   

“Stupid fucking junkies shouldn’t drive!” The man laid on his horn and attempted to accelerate past them, only to have Kasady match his speed and block him again.

“Right here!” Kasady yelled, gesturing to his crotch with both hands. Sleeper slid lower in their seat, blindsided by a feeling of helplessness and a desire to sink through the pickup’s floorboards.

“Yeah? Is that where your skank sister sits during communion?” the man yelled back as the cars behind them blared their own horns.

At this, Kasady unbuckled his seatbelt and lunged halfway out the window. Sleeper hastily grabbed him around the waist, grateful to have the barrier of Tel-Kar’s body between them and Red.

“Cletus, get back in here!” Sleeper hissed.

“Buddy, your face is about to be a bloody pulp! Step out and square up, because I’m going to eviscerate you from your balls to your ugly mug!”    

“Fuck outta here!” the man shouted before speeding off, waving his middle finger as he went. Kasady struggled against Sleeper’s hold, spitting and fuming nonsensical insults.  

“Cletus, stop!” Sleeper shifted their hold and forced Kasady to sit down. “What the hell is wrong with you?” They reached across his lap and pressed the button to roll the window up.

“You seriously have to ask that?” Kasady slammed on the gas, causing the Ford pickup to surge forward. Tel-Kar’s stomach tightened at the jolt, and Chubby the Clown threatened to come back up.

“Can you just act like a functioning person until we get to Manhattan?” Sleeper asked, swallowing back their previous meal.

“Whatever.” Kasady turned down another street without using his turn signal.

After witnessing the utter destruction Kasady was capable of on just fleeting fury, Sleeper found themselves gripping the plastic handle above the pickup’s passenger door until they made it to their destination

Darn Donuts turned out to be a hidden gem nestled against a wall of shops. Kasady parallel parked in one impressively smooth motion, and after the donuts were acquired, he immediately reached for the chocolate ones. Sleeper had never gotten to actually try donuts before leaving for space, and was subsequently delighted with how sweet they were.

“You know, we didn’t have to use all of the money.” Sleeper gestured to the backseat where a ridiculous amount of donut boxes waited for consumption.

“We’re going to space, right?” Kasady said. “Might as well stock up on food.”

Fair point.

“So,” Sleeper said after downing two of donuts from their current box, “if you’re from Brooklyn, why do you talk like that?”

“Talk like what?” Cletus asked through a mouthful of chocolate.

“Like a hillbilly.”  

“I ain't got the faintest idea what you're talking about.” He sounded unusually sincere, if a little cross, and Sleeper decided to drop it and focus on the blessed sugary treats between them.

“You know, it’s strange that Kafka was starving you out,” Sleeper remarked. “She’s known to be highly ethical in regards to her treatment of patients.”

“Kafka-cakes was getting desperate for a breakthrough,” Kasady said. “I mean, every time I bust out of Ravencroft, I go hog wild killing people and cause millions of dollars in property damage. It’s starting to look real bad on her, probably.” He stuffed another donut in his mouth. Maybe it was a good idea they decided to splurge. “Wash, rinse, repeat.”

“What kind of breakthrough was she looking for?” Sleeper asked.

“A cure for my crazy,” Kasady said. “Wanted me to be a functioning member of society by addressing my childhood issues. Thought if I was weak enough, I’d be more compliant in giving her something to work with. People like her act like I don’t know my life is fucked up or that I’m a bad person. I know I’m awful, and anything that happened to me before doesn’t matter. I like being awful. Killing is what gets me going. It’s what makes me feel alive. There’s no actual meaning to any of this.” He made a vague gesture towards the outside of the pickup. “Why change that? The chaos is loud and it’s beautiful.”

“That’s pretty childish,” Sleeper remarked. “And boring.”

Kasady stopped mid chew and shot Sleeper a narrowed glare. “You better choose your next words real carefully.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I agree with you about the whole life being meaningless chaos thing,” Sleeper said. “I just don’t understand anyone who doesn’t want to challenge themselves by taking control of it. I don’t like the idea of acting like an animal just because there’s nothing out there to hold me accountable for my actions. My thrill is creating meaning through order.”

“So, you’re a control freak,” Kasady said. There was that earlier hint of fondness in his tone that Sleeper still definitely didn’t like. “And you say I’m boring.”

“Look, if you want to be a psychopath because you tell yourself nothing matters, who am I to try and change your mind? I just think it’s jumping to the easiest option, and therefore boring.” Sleeper finished off the chocolate donut and picked out one of the apple fritters. Kasady was quiet, seemingly thoughtful as he ate.

“You were right,” Kasady finally said. “Red really likes the chocolate.”

“I’m surprised she never told you about phenethylamine.”

“It’s not like she had anyone to tell her what she needed.” Kasady gave Sleeper a pointed look. “All she had from the moment she was born was me, and I’m just a kid from Brooklyn, not some fancy alien biologist.” The Brooklyn slant to his words emerged again, and Sleeper decided they never were going to get used to it.

“Well, they say the grass is greener,” Sleeper said. “Venom’s parenting is...overbearing, to say the least. Earth is my home, but it was also my prison.”

“Drama queen,” Kasady scoffed.

“Says the guy who pushed a girl into traffic because she didn’t want to date him.”

“Hey, that was incredibly traumatic for me.”

“And it was traumatic for me to hear you say that.” Sleeper turned away from the conversation to see an old television sitting in the window of the shop across from them. It was turned on to a news station, and from within its static-filled screen, the remains of a burning semi truck blocked the Grand Central Parkway. The crushed corpses of cars served as kindling for the spreading flames, while firemen risked their lives to stop the inferno. “Speaking of traumatic,” Sleeper muttered.

“Oh hey, my handiwork!” Kasady said with delight. “Do you think I got any proud parents of honor students?”

“Hey, let’s play the Be Quiet Game,” Sleeper suggested.

Just then, a sound of something wet plopped onto the donut box. Sleeper whipped around in time to see the source of the noise was a thick glob of web coming from the hole in the roof. The web retracted, taking the donuts with it.

“Shit!” Kasady snarled as he flung the door open and practically launched himself into the road. Sleeper followed, already dreading what the were about to see.

Sure enough, Sleeper’s fears were confirmed as they and Kasady searched the above for a familiar blue and red suit. It didn’t take them long to find the spider on the roof of the shop with the television. A red mask emblazoned with white eyes peered down at them, the box of donuts dangling by a web.

“Carnage!” Spider-Man shouted from the roof. “Out of Ravencroft for a few hours and already giving the fire department and EMTs their money’s worth with that massive wreck you caused! 25 people are confirmed dead, Cletus!” He took the donuts in his hands and held them above his head like a trophy. “And now you’ve stolen donuts!”

“I didn’t steal them, you ditz!” Fucking back to Brooklyn. “I bought them!”

“Oh.”

“With money I stole from a guy I cannibalized!”

“God. Dammit.” Spider-Man stood on the edge of the roof, crouching down and ready to spring. That was when his gaze found Sleeper, and the white lenses of his mask’s eyes narrowed via mechanically. “You have a friend?”

“Yeah, I do!” Kasady exclaimed. “This here is my new little brother!”

Spider-Man’s eye lenses flared in apparent shock. “The symbiote spawned again?” Even from a distance, Sleeper could feel Spider-Man’s actual eyes taking in every inch of Tel-Kar. “Look, pal, I don’t know who you are, and you’re clearly an alien, but I gotta say, symbiotes are bad news. They make you a nastier version of yourself. Trust me, been there, done that. If I were you, I’d ditch that thing pronto before it melts your brain.”

“Ha, a little late for that!” Kasady remarked.  

It wasn’t uncommon for others to address Tel-Kar directly, and in a lot of cases, it served Sleeper well. It was what the spider said about Venom that made Sleeper tense.

“Time for you to go back to Ravencroft, Cletus!” Spider-Man leapt from his perch, letting the box of donuts escape his grip. The leftover pastries momentarily surrounded him like a flock of majestic birds, falling away as he shot out a web. It connected with a nearby tree. Spider-Man maneuvered himself to kick Kasady square in the face.

Sleeper formed over Tel-Kar, digging their tendrils into his cerebral folds to directly link themselves to his warrior abilities. In the split second it took Spider-Man to cross the distance between them, Sleeper forced Kasady behind them and caught the web-slinger around the ankle. They grit their teeth against the force of the lunge, Tel-Kar’s muscles straining.  

 _He’s so strong_ , Sleeper thought, taken aback at how difficult it was to stop his momentum. _We need to get out of here._

Spider-Man shot out another web over Sleeper’s head to grab a nearby parking meter. “Nice catch, Venom Junior,” he said. “But running around with Carnage means I’m obligated to beat some sense into you.” Sleeper heard the sound of crumbling cement as the meter was ripped from its post. “In this case, literally.” They ducked down as it soared over their head.

Spider-Man caught the meter in one hand, brandishing it like a sword and ready to bring it down on Sleeper’s head.

“Hey, web-head, think fast!” A surge of red tendrils rocketed into Spider-Man’s chest before he could go through with the beatdown. Sleeper let his ankle go and he slammed against a nearby parked car. The windows shattered and the metal dented around his body. To Sleeper’s astonishment, he immediately got back on his feet.

“That…” Spider-Man managed to gasp out, “only managed…to slightly…knock the wind out of me,” he grunted before he flung the parking meter at them. It managed to catch Sleeper in the chest with a metallic boing, knocking them back into Carnage. “Looks like you and your brother are off your game, Kasady.”

Sleeper extended a web of tendrils to catch themselves before they fell on top of their brother. They hunched forward and dug their claws into the pavement to stop their backward momentum. Glancing to the side, Sleeper saw Carnage had landed in a crouch as well.   

The level of physical strength Spider-Man had was beyond what Sleeper was expecting. They had to end this, and quickly. They still needed to cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get to Manhattan, and time was of the essence.

Using their powers to convince Spider-Man to leave them alone was out of the question. If Sleeper showed the full range of their abilities, Carnage would undoubtedly come to the conclusion that he hadn’t been making his own decisions, and what little control Sleeper had of him would be gone.

No, the only way out of this was to incapacitate Spider-Man long enough for them to get back in the truck and make a desperate dash for Manhattan.

Spider-Man rushed them again and extended his wrist to fire another web. This time, instead of a single strand, several bullet shaped globs shot out. Sleeper managed to skirt them and throw up their camouflage. They were glad they did, for one of those bullet-like webs hit a nearby tree and encased it in a thick cocoon.

Carnage managed to dodge them as well and charged Spider-Man head on. “I’m going to cut you into steaks and serve you at a block party!” he snarled. “Have a friendly neighborhood cookout!” Both of his hands morphed into heavy ax blades as he sprung into the air.

“You have to have friends for that!” Spider-Man rose to meet him via another web strand. He extended his free wrist and shot another strand at Carnage’s right wrist. It made purchase just as Carnage swung his left ax hand in attempts to bisect Spider-Man horizontally.

Spider-Man jerked the web attached to Carnage’s wrist downwards, throwing off his aim and forcing him to fall forward. It was a risk, but it paid off; for instead of being sliced in half, only the very edge of Carnage’s blade sliced through Spider-Man’s thigh. Crimson blood gushed from the wound, but even from such a damaging blow, Spider-Man raised his knee to meet Carnage’s face.

A loud crack went off like a gunshot when they collided. Carnage was forced back upwards from the blow, shrieking with rage. Sleeper, still camouflaged, watched Carnage fall back to earth, and followed Spider-Man’s trajectory. His legs were extended and were aimed at Carnage. Sleeper launched themselves into the air.  

They barreled into Spider-Man with all their weight before he made contact with Carnage. They ripped their claws through the fabric of Spider-Man’s costume and the flesh of his abdomen.

A few thick tendrils snaked their way around Spider-Man’s neck and Sleeper forced the two of them down to the concrete. They landed a few feet from where Carnage surged to his feet with an angry hiss.

Sleeper dropped the camouflage and hauled Spider-Man upwards until his feet dangled above the ground. He immediately clawed at the tendrils, gasping for air.

“Wow…I had…no idea you were there,” he forced out through a nearly closed windpipe. He was smart enough not to waste energy by flailing. The wound on his thigh was deep. Rivulets of blood coiled down his leg like mini streams. The scratches from Sleeper’s claws weren’t nearly as debilitating.

It wasn’t their intention to hurt the spider. As much as their dislike for him stemmed from his treatment and regard for their Other Parent, it wasn’t enough for murder, especially when there was a high probability their plan would fail and the entire planet would be doomed anyway.  

“Hell yeah, now pop his head off!” Carnage appeared next to them.

Sleeper wasn’t sure why, but looking up at this comparatively scrawny human to Father, they had the sudden urge to try and make him understand that they weren’t on Carnage’s side. He needed to know what kind of danger he was in. Sleeper glared up at Spider-Man and exuded another mist of chemicals.  

 _You and this entire planet are in danger._ Sleeper’s words sounded from within Spider-Man’s mind. 

“W-What?” Spider-Man gagged out, his eye lenses flaring in astonishment.

_There’s a creature heading here the size of a large moon that is going to devour this planet. I have to stop it. I don’t have time to explain how, but I need Carnage to do it. I’m sorry._

With that, Sleeper twirled as if gearing up to pitch a ball, and whipped the webslinger through the window of a barbecue restaurant.

A cacophony of screams poured out as Spider-Man’s body plowed a line through the tables and chairs within. Plates shattered and savory meats flew through the air as the patrons struggled to get out of the way.

“Aw, you should have popped his head off,” Carnage whined. “Now he’ll just get back up.”

“We need to get out of here,” Sleeper said, but before they could grab him and pull him back to the truck, a shrieking sound rang through the air.

The agony was unbearable. Every cell felt like it was ripping itself apart. Sleeper clutched at their head as their biomass rippled, trying to expel itself from their host. They let out a screeching cry, their control of Tel-Kar’s legs nearly failing.

Red fared no better, for Carnage tilted his head back in an agonized scream as she struggled to cling to Kasady. The effect looked as if a phantom was being forced out of his body.

Sleeper managed to turn Tel-Kar’s head enough to see a huge armored vehicle rumbling down the street. A massive sound panel sat on its roof, and the closer it came, the harder it was to hold on. Already, the microscopic strands of biomass woven into the fabric of Tel-Kar’s muscles began to snap away.

“Heh, looks like the distraction worked.” Spider-Man hobbled out of the hole of the restaurant where the window once was. His leg was even more of a bloody mess, and one hand clutched at the scratches on his stomach. His costume was splattered in barbecue sauce while a slab of ribs was draped over his head. “Enjoy the music, boys!” He gave a sarcastic two-finger salute.  

The pain made Sleeper nearly keel over and accept their fate, but that wasn’t an option. An image of Venom flashed through their mind, and they forced a few desperate tendrils deep into Tel-Kar’s muscles. A few of them tore from the force, but Sleeper would fix them later. For now, they needed to retreat.

Sparing the now savory Spider-Man one last glare, they grabbed Carnage around the waist and hauled him back to the pickup. They managed to get the door open and dumped him into the driver’s seat.     

“Drive!” Sleeper hissed as they struggled into the passenger’s side. Before they even shut the door, Carnage turned on the ignition and slammed on the gas pedal. The pickup’s tires squealed in protest as it tore out of its parking spot.

Luckily, the armored vehicle was much slower on the uptake as it meandered after them. The pickup swerved in and out of traffic. Carnage broke the other window and extended a wave of red biomass from his arm to sweep other cars to the side as they sped out of range of the sonic emitter.

Sleeper didn’t have it in them to be angry at the casualties. The pain was so immense they couldn’t see straight. It was like the city streets were twirling in a spiral before their very eyes. They shut them and pressed their forehead into the heels of their hands, retreating back inside Tel-Kar in attempts to soothe their irritated cells.

When they finally managed to stave off the vertigo, they looked up again to find only Kasady driving. He seemed even paler than before, his eyes narrowed. His teeth were bared in a pained snarl , one hand massaging his temples.

“You still alive?” Kasady asked. His voice came out hoarse. He didn’t look away from the road.  

“Barely,” Sleeper answered, hissing in pain as they forced themselves to sit up straighter.       

“Traffic on the bridge is going to be awful,” Kasady said.

“We’ll cross _that_ bridge when we get to it,” Sleeper replied with a weak smirk.

Kasady sputtered as he swerved down another street, and then shot Sleeper a split-second glare. “I hate you.”

Just as they thought they were in the clear, Spider-Man slammed down on the hood of the pickup in a crouch. Both Kasady and Sleeper let out surprised shouts as he braced his hands against the windshield.

“Nice try losing me, but I know this city better than some psycho from the south!”  

“I was born and raised in Brooklyn, asshole!” Kasady yelled.

Spider-Man seemed taken aback. “What? Really?”

“What in tarnation makes you think I’m from the south?” 

Spider-Man answered by pulling his fist back and punching through the windshield. The glass shattered inward, and Kasady let out a surprisingly high-pitched scream as Spider-Man’s hand clutched blindly at his face.

“Get him off!” Sleeper yelled.

“He’s getting barbecue sauce in my eyes!” Kasady screamed around Spider-Man’s fumbling fingers. “And it’s zesty!”

Red’s sharp tendrils punctured the windshield in hopes of running Spider-Man through, but he contorted his body out of the way as if he knew Red's moves before she did. His legendary spider sense served him well, apparently.  

Sleeper’s mind blanked out at the sight of the savory sauce spreading over Kasady’s cheeks. For once, they were at a complete loss for to what to do. Kasady was screaming, Spider-Man was screaming, and in an effort to do _something_ , they reached over to the driver’s side and turned on the windshield wipers.

They pushed harmlessly against Spider-Man’s arm.

“That didn’t work!” Sleeper yelled.

“No, shit it didn’t work!” Kasady jerked the steering wheel erratically. “Do something! I’m blind!”

Sleeper took in the inside of the pickup, desperately raking Tel-Kar’s brain for a solution before they inevitably crashed. They scoured over his knowledge of mechanics until an idea came to them. Inertia was their friend in this situation. It was going to be a shot in the dark, but there was only so much time before they hit an intersection.

“Hit the break and cut the wheel to the left!” Sleeper directed.

Kasady complied, and Sleeper was thrown against their side as the pickup spun out. The smell of burning rubber filled the cabin, and Sleeper pushed the clutch into park. The truck stopped abruptly.

Sleeper and Kasady’s faces slammed against the dashboard and steering wheel respectively. Spider-Man was thrown off by the force and hit the road, somersaulting backwards a few times before he came to a stop several yards away.   

The bed of the pickup slammed into a fire hydrant and summoned a geyser of water that flooded the street.

Sleeper spread through Tel-Kar’s face, and knitted the crushed cartilage in his nose back together. Once that was accomplished, they wearily lifted their head and looked to where Kasady was nursing gash on his forehead. Red did a decent job healing it, for in a few seconds all that remained was the initial blood residue. Spider-Man laid prone in the middle of the street, his limbs sprawled out like a rag doll.

Sleeper let out a shaky breath, unaware that they had been holding Tel-Kar’s lungs in a death grip. Spider-Man appeared to be unconscious, so they were in the clear for a few minutes until the armored vehicle caught up to them. Now they just had to cross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, and then they would be in space.

The engine of the pickup revved.

Sleeper’s eyes widened, and they slowly turned their head to look at Kasady. The expression on his face was absolutely evil. His eyes were bloodshot from the barbecue sauce, and his lips parted in a stiff smile that conveyed as much rage as it did sheer glee at finding Spider-Man in such a vulnerable position.

“Cletus,” Sleeper warned. “We don’t have time for this.”

“To hell we don’t,” Kasady muttered under his breath. He pushed the clutch into drive and slammed on the gas. “Time to squash the spider for good.” The truck surged forward as the engine roared. “Yeehaw!”

Sleeper instinctively shot out a few tendrils and spun the wheel, forcing the truck to spin back around and towards their goal.

“I said, we don’t have time,” Sleeper said, exuding their pheromones. “Deal with him when you get back. He’s not a match for you if you keep yourself together. Besides, it would be incredibly unsatisfying to run him over instead of doing something…nastier.”

Kasady opened his mouth to probably yell something obscene in Sleeper’s face, but then seemed to reconsider as he unknowingly breathed in the pheromones.

“You know, you’re right,” Kasady said with a twisted half-smile. “I always wondered what his insides felt like. I want to decorate a Christmas tree with them.”

Goddammit.

“Sure, follow your dreams, or whatever, but let’s focus on the goal for now,” Sleeper said.

After speeding through the city and drawing the attention of the NYPD, along with the anti-Carnage task force gaining ground on them, they finally reached the Brooklyn Bridge. Traffic of course was awful, but with a few swipes of Red’s wave-like form, a path was cleared for them long enough for Kasady to repeat the process.

Metal screeched as cars grinded against each other. A few helicopters hummed in the distance, and police sirens echoed behind them. Kasady’s eyes were no longer bloodshot from the barbecue sauce, and he seemed awfully focused. A little bit too focused. In fact, there was another line of cars beyond Red’s range, but Kasady wasn’t summoning her to shove them to the side. His face was blank, and he wasn’t blinking, almost as if he were in a trance.

“Hey, Cletus?” Sleeper said.

Kasady didn’t respond.

The cars were getting closer at an alarming rate, and Kasady wasn’t hitting the break. If anything, he was speeding up.

“Cletus!” Sleeper yelled as they hung halfway out the window and used their own tendrils to shove the line of cars against the lane next to them. They picked up a frantic scream as they sped through, and decided not to think about how they might have squished someone.

“Oh, shit!” Kasady said, shaking his head. “I forgot who I was for a second.”

“You what?” Sleeper’s voice came out shrill over the rumble of the helicopters and traffic.

“Yeah, it’s real weird. Happens sometimes when I get overstimulated.” He said it so casually that it left Sleeper speechless. “One of my psychologists called it dissociation. Makes me feel like I’m not part of my body.”

“And you decided to do it in the middle of a car chase?”

“It’s not something that I can _decide_ to do,” Kasady remarked. “I’m mentally ill.”

Sleeper opened their mouth to argue, but then realized that there wasn’t anything to argue about. Homicidal tendencies aside, Cletus Kasady was also mentally ill. In fact, he was so mentally ill that instead of getting the death penalty that he rightfully deserved, he was deemed unfit to stand trial and was locked up in Ravencroft instead.

“Just…don’t crash the truck, please,” Sleeper said in defeat.

“Psht.” Kasady rolled his eyes. “Spoken like a true neurotypical.”

They finally made it off the bridge and into Manhattan. They were so close, Sleeper felt the budding head of relief threaten to overtake their common sense. They were still being pursued by Spider-Man, the NYPD, and Ravencroft’s built-in anti-Carnage task force.

That was when they noticed another pursuer hot on their tail. Sleeper’s newborn relief died before it fully bloomed, and was instead crushed by an impending sense of dread.

The dread became reality when they spotted the reflection of a familiar black form swinging through the buildings in the rearview mirror.

“No,” Sleeper whispered. “No, no, no.” What the hell was Venom doing in Manhattan? Eddie and their Other Parent’s apartment was all the way out in the edge of the Bronx. There wasn’t anything here they would want except maybe Alchemax headquarters, but their parents had cut ties with the company after Tel-Kar took their Other Parent hostage.

There was only one reason they could be here, and it was undoubtedly because the pheromones convincing them that this entire mess was for their benefit wore off. They must have seen the news coverage of the accident on the grand central and put the pieces together.

“This can't be happening,” Sleeper said, watching with horror as Venom swung ever closer. 

“What?” Kasady asked. He started to turn his head, but Sleeper hastily shoved a tendril against his cheek, forcing him to look back at the road. A second one hastily pushed the rearview mirror upwards.

“Pay attention to driving,” Sleeper said. Shit. This worst-case scenario had gone from bad to absolute fucking pipe bomb being thrown into a dumpster fire. If Kasady saw Venom, there was no way Sleeper could stop them from trying to kill each other. Carnage caused too much damage for Venom to walk away.

Kasady sped through someone’s yard as they maneuvered through traffic. Horns beeped as they skirted past smaller cars. They just had to outrun Venom and—

“Oh, come on!” Sleeper turned back to see Venom even closer. Not only that, but Spider-Man’s red and blue suit was visible a little way behind him. The flashing red and blue lights of the NYPD drew up the rear. “They’re right on us.”

“Not for long,” Kasady said. He spun the wheel and turned down another street, now careeding directly at an intersection. Just before they hit the oncoming traffic, Kasady spread his arms as if taking flight. Two of Red’s tendrils materialized from Kasady’s shirt to keep the wheel steady while two larger waves erupted from his hands. They pushed against the street and launched the pickup into the air and over the intersection.

Sleeper gripped the handle over the door and felt themselves hover in their seat as the truck came crashing back down to earth on the other side of traffic. That was enough to slow the NYPD down, but there were plenty of side streets, and would be back in view soon. Venom and Spider-Man were still in hot pursuit.

Sleeper could see the white of Venom’s eyes and the gleam of his teeth with how close he was.  

“So, where in Central Park is your ship?” Kasady asked.

“I hid it in the big lake they have near some crazy fountain.”

“You mean the Bethesda Fountain?” Kasady asked.

“Uh, I think?” Sleeper said with a questioning tone.

“You think?” Now it was Kasady’s turn to sound alarmed.

“Give me a break, I...haven’t been to New York in awhile,” Sleeper said, nearly admitting that they were just over a year old. Kasady would never take them seriously if he knew.  

“Well, first rule of this city,” Kasady forced the truck down an alleyway that definitely wasn’t meant for cars let alone a pickup truck, “always remember where you park!” The corpse of a mangy rat slapped wetly against the cracked windshield.

“It’s not my fault that the movies make Central Park look smaller than it is,” Sleeper argued, then let out displeased groan as Kasady nearly took off a traffic cop’s head.

“What the hell kind of movies did Dad let you watch?” Kasady asked in bewilderment.

“…Stuart Little,” Sleeper muttered out of the side of their mouth.

“I’ll be damned. You _were_ sheltered.” Kasady plowed straight through a massive roundabout. Cars skidded out of the way. A chorus of blaring horns and shrieking tires rose in a symphony of chaos. A bus spun out and took the brunt of several collisions. Sleeper’s shoulder slammed against the passenger door and they let out an involuntary scream as Kasady bulldozed through a t-shirt stand at the cobbled entrance to Central Park.

The truck jerked upwards at it rolled over several solid objects. Panicked screams rang out from the pedestrians. A red smear splattered against the windshield, and a shirt reading, “I <3 New York” blocked their view until Kasady flipped on the windshield wipers.

“I think the screaming indicates that this pathway isn’t for cars,” Sleeper said as Kasady pushed the truck deeper into the park.

“It’s not,” Kasady said as the truck jostled over what Sleeper prayed was something inanimate abandoned by the fleeing crowd. “But it’s the fastest way to get to that fountain. Anything here look familiar?”

Sleeper had left Central Park from the north to get to their parents’ apartment. Not only that but trees and grass all looked the same, so no, but they took the opportunity to seek out Venom. He was even closer. One well-placed shot of a web, and he would be upon them.

“They’re right behind us,” Sleeper said gravely.

Kasady cut the wheel to the left and flattened a fence. The truck roared into one of park’s lounging lawns. The truck’s tires tossed up well-maintained chunks of grass and dirt. There were no trees, meaning Venom would have nowhere to shoot his webs. It was a grim comfort. The citizens that were laid out on blankets immediately ran for their lives. Some grabbed their belongings, but most abandoned them in favor of getting to safety.

They made it to the other side of the field into one of the concert arenas where a group of children were singing their hearts out. Their unified crescendo broke into terrified screaming as the big pickup truck barreled through the surrounding foliage.  

“Hold on, I’m going to lose them in the Manhattan Children’s Choir!” Kasady said, aiming straight for the children.

“No!” Sleeper screamed, dreading the thought of Venom watching children die. They took hold of the wheel and attempted to turn it away from the crowd. However, the truck was moving too fast. The children were spared, but they instead plowed through the audience. The truck jostled and rattled as it went.

“Good job, Sleeper, now they’re orphans.” Kasady glared at them as audience members and chairs flew over the vehicle.

“How close are we?” Sleeper raised their voice over the terrible screams.

“Two minutes, if that.”

They made it to a red brick terrace. Two large stone staircases led down to a lower level with a fountain in the center. Beyond that was the lake.

Sleeper remembered the angel at the top of the fountain and the great basin of water below. This was the right place. Just as they were about to inform Kasady, a web hit the roof of the truck, and all of Venom’s bulk came crashing down onto the bed.  

“ ** _Sleeper!_ **” he bellowed, green saliva flinging from his teeth.

It was then Sleeper realized that they were very much in trouble.

Kasady turned around and something purely evil overtook his expression. He abruptly spun the wheel so sharply that the truck lost its equilibrium and flipped right as they reached the edge of the left staircase. Venom was thrown from the bed and Sleeper cocooned Tel-Kar’s body in their protective biomass.

The truck’s frame groaned with every rotation. The already cracked windshield shattered. The roof of the cabin bowed inward as the vehicle tumbled down the stairs. Their 1500 dollars worth of donuts flew about like a flock of rotund birds. Upon reaching the bottom, the truck slid on its roof until it came to a stop just before the fountain. Sleeper immediately unbuckled their seat belt and crawled out of the broken window.

They got to their feet in time to see Venom standing at the top of the stairs, teeth bared and powerful tongue lolling. Every rippling muscle in his body was primed for a fight as he jumped down from the upper terrace.   

Kasady, now engulfed by Red, tore the driver’s side door clean off and crawled out like a spider. Upon seeing Venom, Carnage let out an enraged shriek and morphed both of his hands into sharp sickles.

“Oh, good to see you, Daddio!” Carnage let out a cackle, his pupil-less white eyes narrowing. “Time to take several large chips off the old block, if you know what I mean!”

 **“Come meet your maker, freak!”** Venom launched himself into the air. Claws and teeth ready to shred.

Carnage sprang up to meet him, but was shot down by a beam of orange light. His back hit the ground, and he let out a pained wail, writhing in agony. Sleeper’s gaze followed the beam to its source and found Spider-Man standing on the railing of the upper terrace. A massive gun he probably nicked from the task force rested in his arms.

This couldn’t happen. Venom knew that this planet was in danger, but he was letting his hate dictate his actions. Someone had to be sacrificed, and though Sleeper knew for a fact that their parents or hell, even Spider-Man would be willing volunteers, this task wasn't meant for them.

The world needed them both. They were a force of good that Sleeper was taught to protect and respect from their first coherent thought. Carnage was evil. Cletus Kasady contributed nothing to the world but senseless bloodshed, and Red was too lost in his insanity to be spared.

Carnage was the only correct and logical choice, and for now he had to be spared.

Sleeper formed around Tel-Kar and lunged into the closing gap between their brother and Venom’s claws. The rest happened in a split second. Venom’s eyes widened in horror as he tried in vain to correct his course, but it was too late and he was moving too fast. Sleeper braced themselves as Venom’s claws ripped through the barrier of biomass and into the flesh of Tel-Kar’s face.

Blue blood splattered against the red bricks of the lower terrace. The vision in Sleeper’s left eye went black, and it took every ounce of strength they had not to be flung to the side. Instead, they grasped Venom’s upper arm and threw him back into the pavilion between the staircases.

The force of Venom’s body caused the bricks to nearly shatter around him. Sleeper’s face felt like it was melting, but they ignored the pain, knowing it wasn't anything they couldn't heal. They had a mission. There was no other option. Venom knew there wasn't. Sleeper pressed the button in Tel-Kar’s belt and the water behind them surged as Tel-Kar’s stolen skrull ship rose from within the lake’s depths. It was a feature Sleeper convinced a very skilled alien mechanic to add on their first venture into space.

The rumbling of an armored sonic vehicle drew nearer. They were out of time.

Sleeper spun around and released a spike of pheromones. “Get to the ship!” they commanded.  

Carnage’s eyes narrowed into an unreadable degree, but the pheromones convinced him to obey. He hauled himself to his feet just as Spider-Man shot another heat wave at them both. Sleeper made a beeline for the fountain, running straight through the basin to take cover behind the angel. The water around their ankles was frigid and probably swimming with bacteria. They stared as the sun blinked off of the ship’s metallic sheen. There was nothing between them now save for a tiny fence. Sleeper pressed another button and a panel slid away to reveal a doorway on the side of the ship.

It was time to make a run for it. Sleeper turned and jerked in surprise to find Carnage’s face inches away from theirs.

“Christ! Where the hell did you come from?”

“What?” The ridges above Carnage’s eye spots furrowed. “I took cover with you. Those microwave guns hurt like a bitch. Shit though, dad sure did a number on your face.”

"That bad, huh?"

"Probably one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen."

"Thanks." Sleeper peeked around the side of the angel statue to find Spider-Man on the lower terrace ahead of Venom. He was drawing closer, gun still raised.

“Now or never!” Sleeper rushed forward and skirted another beam from Spider-Man. They hopped on top of the fence separating the terrace from the lake, and jumped to the opening in the ship.

Carnage followed after. Sleeper instinctively reached out and grasped his wrist, pulling him aboard.    

 **“Sleeper, this isn’t the way!”** Venom’s pleading voice sounded above the soft hum of the engines. He ran to the fence, one hand reaching out. **“You don’t understand what he’s capable of! He won’t help you! He’s going to kill you!”**

The worst part was, there was no anger in Venom’s words. There was only desperation and terror. He braced one hand against the post of the fence and climbed on top of it. He reminded Sleeper of a homeless child standing on a box as they begged for food from an unsympathetic public.

“Nice try, old man, but it’s space or bust and the kid’s with me now!” Carnage yelled from behind Sleeper’s shoulder. “Don’t cry too hard. We’ll send you a postcard!”    

 **“Sleeper, please.”** Venom for once ignored Carnage. His hand was still extended and beckoning. The combined voices of their parents were thick with an emotion Sleeper didn’t have the knowledge to place. **“You don’t need him; we will help you instead. You don’t have to do this.”**  

Sleeper stared at Venom with their remaining eye. Tel-Kar’s blood ran down their neck and over the black and green of their biomass.

They knew what this looked like. The sharp edges of Carnage's claws wrapped around their upper arms. Possessive and spiteful energy radiated from the hold, and Sleeper wanted to rip themselves apart to escape how dirty it made them feel.

“Yes, I do.”

With that Sleeper pressed a button, and the panel slid shut just as Spider-Man rounded the fountain and shot another heat beam. It bounced harmlessly against the metal of the ship as the panel slid shut.

In the closing crack, Sleeper watched outwardly impassive but inwardly guilt-ridden, as Venom opened his mouth in a shriek of pure despair.  

 

    

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 45
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! If you like what I write, want to yell at me for causing Venom pain, think I'm awkwardly charming, want to chat or be friends come yodel at me on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees 
> 
> Thank you again so much if you got this far. I appreciate every comment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper is trapped in a tiny stolen ship with Carnage, and it really sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for so much for your feedback, everyone! I feel like we're all a family unlike Sleeper and Carnage! Also, there's some cool fanart by [threshprince](https://threshprince.tumblr.com/tagged/Supia%27s+Art/page/2)  
> on tumblr! Go look at her art! It's amazing! Not much to say, except enjoy!

 

Three hours passed since they left Earth behind.

Three hours confined to a small space…

Sleeper let out a, _“RHEEEE!”_ as they wrapped a half-mummified skrull corpse in a nest of tendrils and pummeled Carnage over the head with it.

There were three (now two) of them sitting at a nice table. Each one sported holes in their heads from a ray gun, courtesy of Tel-Kar back when his bodily autonomy was relevant. Sleeper had discovered the bodies shortly after leaving Earth for the first time, and had come to view them as sort of morbid friends, privately dubbing them The Squad.

Carnage ripped through the body like a bullet through cheese paper, splattering the walls with dried flesh, and lunging with his own _“RHEEEE!”_

He slammed into Sleeper head on, and sent them both tumbling into the small storage dock of the ship. His teeth sank into Sleeper’s shoulder, and he shook his head so their serrated edges sawed into the flesh. Tel-Kar’s collar bone popped under Carnage’s bite force, and Sleeper immediately tore into Carnage’s shoulder blades with their claws in response.

Carnage shrieked in pain, grasping at the wounds, and Sleeper took the opportunity to punch him in the throat. He wheezed for air, grasping at his neck. Sleeper scrambled out from under him and hissed, clutching at their bleeding shoulder as they rapidly healed. “Take back what you said about The Kinks!”

“Not until you stop calling Skynyrd a boy band!” Carnage roared.

“They are a boy band, you deaf sack of oranges!” Sleeper rushed across the floor on all fours and wrapped their claws around Carnage’s neck. They shoved him to the floor and straddled him, bringing their face a mere inch away. “And trailer trash!”

Carnage crushed his elbows into the inside of Sleeper’s, breaking their hold and making them lose balance. Sleeper fell forward and Carnage sat up quickly in order to headbutt them. Refusing to be knocked backwards, they braced themselves against the attack, and their foreheads collided in a clash of musical egos.

Sleeper extended their lower jaw, causing the scent pits on their cheeks to stretch open and expose every jagged tooth in a show of dental superiority. “The guitar solo at the end of Free Bird is pointless!”

Carnage’s tendrils extended as he pushed against Sleeper, his eyes wide with pure fury and offense. Not to be outdone in dental prowess, he too opened his mouth to both show off his teeth and screech in Sleeper’s face, “The guitar solo in Free Bird is a celebration of embracing the difficult decision to pursue self-expression over the societal expectation to bind oneself to the institution of marriage, and to prostitute yourself in the form of unrewarding labor for an indifferent corporation, dumbass!”      

Sleeper scoffed, and then said nothing because they didn’t really have an argument to dispute that, despite the fact Lynyrd Skynyrd was indeed a trailer trash boy band.

Instead, they took the opportunity to grab their brother’s face in one hand, flip over him, and use the momentum to catapult him back towards the front of the ship. He crashed into the table and chair set occupied by the remaining two members of The Squad. The metal table bowed slightly with the force of the impact. Sleeper charged at him and Carnage extended a shot of tendrils about the width of an adult oak from his hand and slammed Sleeper against the wall, the ceiling, the other wall, and floor.

Sleeper shrieked in rage with every collision. No one insulted Doctor Steven’s taste in music. Even if it was also Sleeper’s taste, but that _totally_ had nothing to do with their current fit of blinding rage. Carnage stopped the assault in order to dangle Sleeper before him.

“Your shitty British soft rock groups are blander than actual British food!” Carnage yelled, tightening the coils around Sleeper’s body. The snap, crackle and pop of Tel-Kar’s ribs did not bother them in the slightest. Tel-Kar’s body had recovered from far worse on its own.

“Sweet Home Alabama’s purpose was to defend the racism of the south!” Sleeper yelled back, strands of digestive saliva clinging to the points of their fangs. “Besides, there’s nothing in Alabama but corn and incest!”

“That is _not_ true; they have a coastline!” Carnage roared. “And peanuts!”

“Song still sucks!”

“I could listen to turtles fucking and experience a better sense of satisfaction with the sound it produces than with what is shat out by The Kinks!”

“The Kinks displayed unprecedented acceptance for the transgender community _during the 60s_ with “Lola”!” Sleeper cocked their leg back and kicked Carnage directly between the legs. He rose with the impact, his eyespots nearly engulfing the upper portion of his face. His maw dropped open in a silent scream of agony as he hunched over, clutching his groin with his free hand.

“Did you seriously just kick me in the balls?” he squeaked out. A bit of liquid clung to the edges of his eyes. “Who taught you to fight?”

Sleeper’s answer was to hook their legs over Carnage’s shoulders and strangle him with them. He wheezed, the sound not unlike a helium balloon leaking air mixed with gurgling. A few of his tendrils wrapped around Sleeper’s face, most thin and razor-sharp like piano wire, but a thicker one attempted to strangle Sleeper in retaliation.

Sleeper opened their mouth and chomped down before it got the chance. Carnage stumbled about the room, his claws slicing into Sleeper’s thighs as he desperately tried to pry them off. Sleeper sank their fangs deeper into the tendril and locked their jaw. Carnage threw himself against a few walls, desperate for the ingrained habit of taking in air, and tumbled up towards the cockpit.

He outstretched an arm towards the music player. It was a high-tech piece of equipment that had millions of Earth songs programmed into it, and it was one of the few completely positive connections to their parents.

Currently, Fleetwood Mac was delivering the chorus to “The Chain”, a song that they had earlier agreed to through much deliberation and various creative death threats.

Sleeper threw their weight forward, causing Carnage to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. Sleeper crawled forward, their talons shrieking against the metal floor. Carnage was upon them in an instant, clawing his way up Sleeper’s back in a desperate bid to force them to sit through a four-minute guitar solo.             

Sleeper jerked their elbow backwards and cracked Carnage right between the eyes. If he was an average human, it would have broken his nose at the very least. As it stood, Carnage took the blow and forced Sleeper onto their back.

“You will die for disrespecting Ronnie Van Zant’s legacy,” he hissed, morphing his hand into a single blade. He plunged it towards Sleeper’s face with a malicious cackle.

“You do _not_ get to stab me in the head!” Sleeper shoved the heel of their hand into Carnage’s elbow, knocking his hand-blade off course.

The blade went through the music player. “The Chain” skipped a few times, whirred electronically, and then cut off. A hiss exuded from the speakers and a new song started playing.

It had a high melody and sounded way more modern than Sleeper’s taste. A man shouted a line over the track and a string of ‘Oh yeah’s’ led into:

_I know that you've been waitin' for it, I'm waiting too, In my imagination I'd be all up on you—_

“Nooooo!” Sleeper and Carnage shouted in unison. Sleeper recognized the tune to “Touch My Body” by none other than the pop diva, Mariah Carey. The guitar solo of Free Bird sounded far more appealing in the moment.

Sleeper immediately lunged to the music player and tore Carnage’s hand out of its metal face. Despite knowing they couldn’t do anything to fix it, Sleeper looked into the hole to see the mass of disturbed wires. As expected, they couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Tel-Kar used to listen to music all the time. He didn’t so much after surviving years of torture. He certainly didn’t know how to fix a music player that had been impaled by an idiot who turned everything to shit with his touch.

_Touch my body, roll me on the floor, wrestle me some more—_

Sleeper desperately pressed a few buttons and twisted the volume dial. Still, Mariah Carey kept belting in her five-octave voice about having a secret rendezvous and killing the dude if he told.

“You are the vilest creature I’ve ever met!” Sleeper snarled. “And I’ve been to a planet where all their décor was slightly off center!”

_Touch my body, Let me wrap my thighs, All around your waist, Just a little taste—_

“Aw, thank you!” Carnage sounded infuriatingly touched.

“That wasn’t—you broke it, you stupid fake hilljack!”

“Stop calling me a hilljack!” Carnage yelled, standing up to meet Sleeper’s gaze. “I’m from Brooklyn!” He turned to the damaged music player. “Turn it off!”

“I’m trying!” Sleeper said, pressing every button with increasing frenzy. “It’s not turning off! No! Please, God, no!”

Bloodied and battered an hour later, they refused to look at each other as “Touch My Body” played on a loop—the volume frozen. Not only that, but Carnage’s shit taste in music destroyed the one purely positive connection Sleeper had with their parents. Drifting through the endless expanse of space while relaxing to The Kinks, or The Rolling Stones discography as a second choice, was a way for Sleeper to ground themselves to Earth without the side effect of feeling smothered.

Music helped them focus on the good feelings, while staving off the bad. Sleeper remembered how their newborn body reacted to the vibrations of sound for the first time—soothing when it was structured. It brought them back to the lab where Doctor Steven imparted his vast intelligence upon them, and how delighted he was when the baby symbiote swayed to his favorite tunes. Sleeper was sure they experienced happiness for the first time when they had witnessed the usually stoic scientist smile.

More importantly, it made it easier to remember Venom when Sleeper found themselves missing him.

It happened more often than they liked to admit.

And Carnage ruined it.

Now all that was left to think about was Venom’s terrible, wailing scream still echoing faintly in their subconscious. Tel-Kar’s knuckle bones threatened to rip through the skin as Sleeper gripped the ship’s controls.

Four hours prior, as they prepared themselves to leave Earth for the second time, they felt Carnage’s claws wrap possessively around their upper arms, and Sleeper knew he did it just so it was the last thing Venom saw. They stared at the seamless wall of the ship, disgusted and angry.    

_You’re going to be better._

_You’re going to be a hero. Like Flash. Like Eddie. Like_ **_Venom._ **

_Every awful thing we’ve done ends with your birth._

_You’re our redemption._

Sleeper’s introduction to life had been those streams of thought from their alien parent. Before they could see, hear, or even feel anything on their own. They knew their purpose.

_You cannot be –_

Images of teeth and claws. Mutilated corpses. Shrieking monsters echoed in the tiny mind they had just come to inhabit.

 _—like_ **_them_ ** _._

Sleeper spun around and swatted Carnage’s hands away.

“Don’t touch me.” They bumped shoulders with him as they stormed to the front of the ship and sat in the cockpit.

“Who pissed in your cheerios?” Carnage asked, his tone incredulous.

Sleeper pulled the throttle to the ship and caused it to surge forward. Carnage shrieked and the sound of falling objects and a body hitting the door behind them as the ship soared off, was a bitter comfort.

A series of grunts filled the cockpit, and Sleeper saw a thick bundle of red tendrils wrap around the adjacent seat. Sleeper had to admit they were impressed that Carnage was even strong enough to fight the g-force as the ship ascended through the earth’s atmosphere, but they quickly shoved it down. They shouldn’t have been thinking anything positive about a serial killer.

“You…are…such…a dick!” Carnage breathed out between strained noises as he fought his way into the copilot’s seat.

“Ouch. Going to take a lifetime of therapy to recover from that kind of emotional abuse,” Sleeper said flatly. The reflective blue light of the sky quickly faded into the blackness of space. Sleeper pushed the ship onwards, separating Carnage from Venom for the last time.

“You know, for being Dad’s golden child, you have a serious attitude problem,” Carnage snarled.

“Yeah? Well, for having such a loving grandmother you have a serious serial killer problem,” Sleeper retorted.

“Don’t you _fucking_ dare.” Carnage let out a rumbling growl reminiscent to a dog ready to attack. “I will rip this ship apart and kill us both.”

Sleeper groaned. It was best not to escalate the situation. Carnage flipping a semi on a busy highway was lesson enough. Being sucked into the vacuum of space and burning up as they re-entered Earth’s atmosphere was a bit overkill.

They glanced sideways as Carnage, red eyes weary and half-lidded. If they were human, they were sure they would have resembled Eddie when he hadn’t slept for a few days. “Sorry.”

It wasn’t sincere. Carnage seemed to know it, because his death stare was probably enough to give even the most hardened soldier nightmares.

“What’s that look for?” Sleeper asked. “Earlier you were practically waxing poetic about how nice she was and how you killed her anyway.”

“It was a poetic moment.” Carnage’s stare was accompanied by a thin grin. “She was obsessed with a flying nanny. Always telling me stories. I hated it.”

“Surprise, you hate Mary Poppins,” Sleeper muttered.

“She had these little figurines she loved more than life itself. So, I broke them to lure her to the stairs and pushed her right on her flabby old ass. Her arm fat flapped like bird’s wings.”

“That’s what you told your psychologist,” Sleeper stated. “I read your file, remember?”

“Did I mention the sound her neck made when it snapped on the third step?” Carnage asked.

“You know, I reached the peak of my horror in your actions when you tried to run over the Manhattan Children’s Choir, so literally anything you say from now on is only going to elicit exasperation,” Sleeper said.

“What if I told you about the time I tried to resurrect an evil god?”

“Couldn’t care less.”

“What if I told you murder is sometimes how Red and I make love?”

“ _Okay_ , _how about some music!_ ” Sleeper said louder than necessary. They were obviously being fucked with, but digging into Eddie’s brain had given them enough emotional scarring on that front.  

Four hours later, Sleeper was currently beating themselves up for the suggestion. Fighting with Carnage to defend The Kinks’ honor after all that had been a stupid move. Now they were adrift in space feeling lost, angry, and frustrated at having to drive while simultaneously stitching Tel-Kar’s corpse back together.

Sleeper hated that Carnage was sitting next to them. They hated that they left Venom alone in his justified terror. They hated that they had sacrificed a member of The Squad so carelessly. But most of all, they hated Mariah FUCKING Carey.

_Throw me on the bed, I just wanna make you feel like you never did…_

Sleeper let out a sudden screech containing every ounce of rage beating the shit out of Carnage hadn’t satisfied. “I can’t take it! We’re stopping at my mechanic!”

“Oooh, a space mechanic!” Carnage made a motion with his eyes that gave the impression he was rolling them, and got up from the copilot seat. “Whatever, I’m going to the back.”  

Sleeper didn’t bother turning around to watch him go. They preferred to stew in their own misery, thank you very much.

_‘Cuz they be all up in my business like a Wendy interview…_

Ugh.

It wasn’t long before their enhanced hearing picked up on Carnage’s voice over the music. He was speaking to someone, and Sleeper at first chalked it up to him having a conversation with The Squad as Sleeper often did when they needed to hear their thoughts out loud, but then his tone took on a more pleading edge. Sleeper was grudgingly curious.

They pressed a few controls to keep the ship on its course and got up from their seat to stand behind the doorway that led into the lounge area. Sleeper could smell Carnage’s scent mixed with the sweet decay of what was left of The Squad.

“It’s okay, you have to eat,” Carnage pleaded. “The clown pervert and donuts weren’t enough with how long we were starved. You can’t keep diverting all the nutrients to me.”

Sleeper peeked around the edge of the doorway to see Carnage sitting on the chair previously occupied by the now dismembered skrull. The other two sat on either side of him, their sunken eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Shame the last thing they saw was Tel-Kar stealing their ship.

He wasn’t talking to them though. His head was lowered to the table dented from their music brawl. Carnage looked smaller. Only a few tiny tendrils danced from his shoulders, while his arms were wrapped protectively around his middle.

“No, don’t say shit like that!” he snarled. “Just eat something from me! There’s plenty to choose from that won’t kill me! A kidney, a toe, just…please. Red, please…”

Sleeper retracted their gaze and was left staring out the ship’s front window. They should have known Red was going to put Kasady before herself. They had read about her various rampages upon separation. She had hollowed out host after host to return to him, which was why they were confined together.

“Don't do this to me.” Kasady’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet and desperate. “I’ll break again if I have to be alone.”

Their codependency was disgusting. Sleeper knew their parents displayed the symptoms, but not to this degree. Sleeper needed Carnage whole, but regardless of that, something else was eating them from the inside out. It was the same feeling they had when Venom begged them not leave with Carnage.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Sleeper sighed to themselves, before they barged into the room. Carnage looked up, but said nothing as Sleeper rooted around in the ship’s refrigerator unit and pulled out a flash-frozen bag of meat. They had no idea if it was still good, and they knew live meat was better, but it would be enough to keep Red going until her next meal.

They ripped open the air-tight bag with their teeth and deposited the food on a metal plate they fished out of a storage bin with a few tendrils. Still refusing to directly look at Carnage, they put the plate in the air convection oven for a few minutes.

The tension in the room was high, and Sleeper prepared themselves in case Carnage decided to go for a round two. The oven dinged without another fight, and Sleeper practically ripped the food out. The heat was enough for the surface of their skin to burst and retreat from Tel-Kar’s fingers.     

“Here.” Sleeper unceremoniously dropped the plate on the mangled table in front of Carnage. This terrible creature was their brother, and family was supposedly the most important thing. It only made sense they should keep him fed, unwarranted feelings of misplaced guilt aside.

“What’s this?” Carnage asked as he poked the meat with the tip of a claw.

“Food. Eat it.”

Carnage looked up at them with distrust, but obliged. Sleeper found it impossible bury their complete revulsion as Carnage grasped a piece of chicken in his claws and bit a chunk out of it. He didn’t chew, just tilted his head back and swallowed it whole like he had with Chubby the Clown.

“Hmm, it’s kinda dry, little bro.” Carnage extended his prehensile tongue to pick a few bits of meat from between his teeth.

Sleeper narrowed their eyes and let out a low hiss. Their parents had warned them that their older sibling was nothing more than a goddamn animal, but Sleeper was coming to the conclusion they had actually broken a homicidal toddler out of baby jail.

“Here, let me fix that for you.” Sleeper grabbed the edge of the plate and pulled it back across the table. They formed their mouth and gathered as much spit and digestive mucus as possible in their throat before hacking it on the food. “Hope that’s not too much,” Sleeper said as they tossed the plate back across the table.

It landed in front of Carnage with a clatter.

If Carnage was outraged or disgusted, he hid it well, for all he did was stare down at the freshly “sautéed” meal with an eerily blank face. His stark white eyes did not narrow in anger, he didn’t hiss or try to attack. Instead, he picked up the now spittle-soaked chicken and took a bite, all while staring directly into Sleeper’s eyes. Sleeper refused to give him this power move by averting their gaze. Their pride was too powerful.

“That good?” they asked, maintaining a sarcastically oblivious tone.

Carnage’s eyes closed in apparent revere as he swallowed. “Man,” he murmured as if lost in memory, “it tastes just like Mary Anne’s cooking.”          

“Mary Anne?” Sleeper immediately regretted asking.

“Yeah, she was the head cook back in prison. There wasn’t anything like that woman’s Salisbury steak.” Carnage’s eyes flew open and he leaned across the table. “As in,” his mouth curved in an open-mouthed smirk, “it tastes like shit.”

Sleeper glared down at Carnage, unblinking. “Then starve.”  

They left him in the back and returned to the cockpit, flipping a few more controls to bring the ship back to manual control. Over the hum of the engines, they heard the soft tearing of meat and rubbed their eyes. Why did they do that?  

It was the pleading.

It reminded them that Venom was stranded on Earth, probably staring hopelessly at their vapor trail with only his arch enemy to comfort him. This was why Sleeper knew they would never have a host, at least not a permanent one with the capacity to influence them.

Red valued the life of an irredeemable sack of shit more than her own. Hell, she wasn’t even a ‘she’, but an ‘it’, if anything. Red just did anything Kasady wanted. She couldn’t help it. Even being in Father’s head for such a short time had colored Sleeper’s individuality through a more Eddie Brock lense. They had felt their Other Parent’s devotion secondhand through Eddie’s memories of their bond, and just being brushed by its current had left Sleeper disoriented, heightening their own desperation to save their parent.

Red was the very embodiment of that devotion. It didn’t matter to her that Cletus Kasady was vile and worthless. He fed her the addictive high of his emotions when he killed, and was the only home she knew. It made Sleeper’s biomass twitch. They would never allow their identity to be swallowed like that by a host. Not ever.     

“So how long until we get to your fancy space mechanic?” Carnage asked, plopping down in the copilot seat.

“Let me check.” Sleeper typed the coordinates to their Dear Friend… damn, Sleeper could never remember his name. The estimated arrival time appeared in a small box that popped up in the corner of the center panel’s main screen. “72 hours.”

Carnage stared blankly.

“ _Oh my God_ ,” Sleeper whispered, and then said louder, “That means three days.”  

“Oh!” Carnage said. “So…” He looked at the broken music player.

_Touch my body, Put me on the floor, wrestle me around, play with me some more…_

“Yup, so thanks for that.”

“I’ll take this over The Kinks.”

“Fuck you.”

“Right back ‘atcha, bro!” Carnage clicked his tongue and gave a double finger guns.  

“Pick a place and I’ll meet you there in five.” Sleeper split the smooth surface over their teeth in a sardonic smile.

“Stop flirting with me!” Carnage snapped. “It’s fucking weird!”

“Then stop talking.”

He did. For almost two days. The only sound on the ship was Mariah Carey crooning on about a secret lover she was embarrassed to be seen with. Over and over, the pop diva demanded her body be touched and her thighs be wrapped around someone’s waist.

It was starting to drive Sleeper insane. Every repetition of the song seared the words into Tel-Kar's brain so deeply, Sleeper was pretty sure they could be considered independent thought despite the former kree's vegetative state. They had to get to their mechanic (whose name was still not coming to mind) and make this very small spaceship the eighth instead of the ninth level of hell. Zing, another literature reference! God, they were so fucking brilliant! Sleeper blamed this slaphappy stream of thought on Mariah. Someone touch the woman’s body, already.

“I know you got the feeling for me, hundred and two,” came a soft voice from next to them. “And boy I know I feel the same, my temperature’s through the roof~”

Sleeper turned their head to see Carnage staring out the window, his mouth moving to the words.

“If it’s a camera up in here, then it’s gonna leave with me, when I do, I do,” he sang softly. “If it’s a camera up in here, then I best not catch this flick on YouTube, YouTube.” He didn’t seem to be aware he was even doing it. “‘Cuz if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down.”

Sleeper clenched their teeth against an involuntary laugh. This was beautiful. Carnage turned in his seat abruptly in time for Sleeper to realize that a second soft voice had joined in.

“Touch my body, put me on the floor, wrestle me around, play with me some more,” they heard themselves sing. “Touch my body, throw me on the bed, I just wanna make you feel like you never did.” When had they started this? Sleeper wanted to shut their mouth, but this song had been branded so deeply into their psyche, that they couldn’t resist Mariah Carey’s upbeat jam any more than Carnage could. “Touch my body, let me wrap my thighs—”

“—all around your waist, just a little taste!” Carnage sang louder.

“Touch my body, know you like my curves—” Sleeper practically yelled.

“—C’mon and give me what I deserve!” Carnage finished.

They sang on, still healing wounds and trapped in a tin can, but for the brief few minutes of this particularly special repeat of “Touch My Body”, everything felt different. Instead of maiming each other, the rage and frustration was vented through half-singing, half-screaming. They even nailed the last half sung in round, with Carnage taking up Mariah Carey’s mantel and Sleeper the background singers’. It felt… better.

Still not great. But better.

Maybe this was what siblings were supposed to do. Their Other Parent had been so taken with Earth culture, they tried to force Sleeper into the box of a normal human family. It was nice at first, but Sleeper had grown mature enough to take care of themselves, and that once comfortable box became foreign and ill-fitting. Their Other Parent hadn’t even seemed to realize it, and definitely didn’t explain it to Father.

Singing badly with their older brother to a song they both hated seemed so normal. For this brief moment in time, Sleeper wanted this. However, they were never going to have it. This moment of innocence wasn’t who Carnage was. He was funny, surprisingly intelligent, and currently channeling Mariah Carey’s very spirit, but it was only because of a very strict set of circumstances.

No matter how funny or smart he was, no matter how many glimpses of a person there was beneath the monster, Carnage was just that. A monster. Death was the kindest future for him, and Sleeper reminded themselves that this mission was a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. It was best to stop thinking of what-ifs.

Carnage was going to sacrifice himself for Venom, and with all the blood on his hands, it was the least he could do.

The song ended and started again. They didn’t sing it this time, and instead stared up at the passing stars.

“Man, I never realized how cool space is,” Carnage said after a while. A bright, burning tail of a comet streaked through the blackness in the far distance. A mixture of ancient gasses held the light of long dead stars in hues of dark purple and blues.

“Have you not been to space before?” Sleeper asked.

“I have,” Carnage responded. “But I’m usually so focused on genocide that I never stopped to appreciate it.” He chuckled. “Who knew it would take being trapped in a confined space with the biggest narcissist in the universe to get me to stop and smell the roses?”

“First of all, sit and spin,” Sleeper growled, but then caught sight of a far-off gas giant. Suddenly they were small and confined to the Alchemax lab again. Their Other Parent had done their best to teach them their heritage, despite their regressed condition. Abuse from various hosts had damaged their Other Parent so badly, they were still struggling to recover. God, they had tried so hard. Sleeper snuck a glance at Carnage and saw him staring up at the stars. His face looked so much like Venom’s.

“Second of all,” they said, turning back to the stars, “it is.”     

         

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 46
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> Sleeper is responsible for every awful thing Carnage does. They were the ones that let him out.  
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> Look at how beautiful it is! Go send her some love! And if anyone else wants to do fanart, then you are more than welcome! I will probably cry because I'm a super weenie. But thank you for getting this far! Feel free to let me know what you think! I love having discussions and get so excited when people message me. Come visit me on tumblr @ [princess-of-peachtrees](http://princess-of-peachtrees.tumblr.com/)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper and Carnage make it to the mechanic shop. Carnage picks up some unusual snacks and Sleeper wrestles with the guilt of betraying Venom's trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, new chapter here! It's been read over a few times, both my me and my other beta deadlysupia. Warbles has only managed to beta half of it with their busy schedule, and I didn't want you guys to have to wait a full month, so here she is in all of her glory! A few tweaks may happen tomorrow, but as it stands, I think she's ready to go and continue this messy adventure.

“Where are we going anyway?” Carnage asked after a few more continuous loops of “Touch My Body.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask earlier,” Sleeper said.

“I mean, I don’t really care, but if I don’t start talking, this song is going to make me kill myself,” Carnage said. Sleeper didn’t doubt that he meant it.

“A planet called Caabos,” they said. “It’s essentially Space Vegas. Specifically, the city of Vu’Kreok. There’s something there that we need to be able to stop a ravenously hungry, ancient space terror from eating Earth.”

“Oh, cool.”

“You’re not going to ask what it is or how we’re going to get it?”

“Nah, I don’t really care as long as I get to kill.” Carnage gave a half shrug and didn’t speak further—a clear power move just to make things awkward. Thankfully, the drive not to commit suicide apparently overrode his need to be an asshole, and he asked, “So why did you do it?”

“I’ve done a lot of things, Carnage,” Sleeper said as if talking to a toddler. “Care to be more specific?”  

“You know, give Tel-Kar’s brain the whole swish and flick.” Carnage placed the talon of his index finger near where his nose would have been and made a gutting motion.

“You mean lobotomize him?” Sleeper clarified. “Also, you’ve read Harry Potter?”

“They played the movies on prison movie night,” Carnage said dismissively. “But Tel-Kar. Why did you?”

“He tried to enslave our parent and called me afterbirth,” Sleeper responded simply. “Red should consider it: unlimited freedom and a flesh suit to fool the masses.”

“She would never!” Carnage exclaimed, pressing a hand to his chest. If only he had some pearls to clutch, then the full extent of his horror would have been more amusing. “She’s like my wife! She takes care of me!”  

“You know your other isn’t actually female, correct?”

“Well, duh,” Carnage said as if Sleeper were stupid for asking. “I went through a lot of pronouns with her. But then she gave birth and acts like a wife. Besides, she doesn’t seem to mind either way.”

“Okay, so first of all, by ‘acts like a wife’ you mean she has the exact same personality as you, agrees with everything you say, and does whatever you want?” Sleeper asked.

“Exactly!” Carnage said.

Pretty sexist, but whatever. Red’s gender preferences were none of Sleeper’s business anyway. Especially because she was going to be dead in a few weeks. “Second of all, I have a niece or nephew?” Now that was far more interesting.

“Had,” Carnage corrected. “A nephew, that is. Also a niece, but fuck if I know what happened to her.”

“Ah, eating your own young is pretty par for the course with you, huh?” Sleeper asked.

“I didn’t eat them,” Carnage said with a touch of defensiveness. “Not for lack of trying though,” he muttered after a moment.

“And there it is.” Sleeper sighed. “So, what happened to my nephew since you’ve lost track of my niece?”

Sleeper felt Carnage’s heavy glare like hot irons being pressed to their skin. “Why don’t you ask your Dad?” It came out quiet, but certainly not gentle. Something as sinister as riptide beneath a deceptively calm sea raged within.  

Sleeper didn’t respond for a moment. They knew Venom had a checkered past, but something about the way Carnage spoke led Sleeper to believe that this was one of the many things their parents tried to keep from them. If so, Sleeper wasn’t sure they wanted to know the details just yet.

“What was his name?” they asked instead.

It didn’t seem like Carnage was going to answer at first. He had moved his glare to the front window, no longer taken with the wonders of space. “Toxin,” he said. “His name was Toxin. And I never wanted him.”

Sleeper wasn’t sure why, but something told them they should definitely shut the fuck up and not push this. It wasn’t that Carnage had any love in his heart for his offspring, clearly, but if the claws digging into his seat were any indicator, he was agitated to a dangerous level.  

The silence stretched on between them. The magic of their impromptu karaoke session had long since worn off, and Sleeper found themselves feeling rather awkward now that their rage had been dismissed. Still, Carnage’s mood swings weren’t anything Sleeper intended to get used to, so it made no sense why they felt like they were in the wrong for bringing Toxin up.

Sleeper looked away from Carnage, to focus on the inky blackness that surrounded them. Did they feel bad? No, it was more they felt horrifically curious and prodding Carnage was going to start yet another fight Sleeper wasn’t sure they could win. Of course they didn’t feel bad. Cletus Kasady deserved every ounce of misery in his life. Everything bad that happened to him, he brought upon himself.

Guilt, growing more familiar, twisted in Sleeper’s soma, completely separate from Tel-Kar. Kasady didn’t deserve  _everything_ that happened to him—at least not what Roscoe Kasady did.

Sleeper risked a quick sideways glance at their brother, and a sick feeling constricted them like a hungry python. This was so incredibly stupid. Kasady said it himself: his shitty childhood didn't matter. He liked being a bad person, and that was that. Empathizing and feeling guilty only made things more complicated than they needed to be.   

Sleeper returned to the emotional safety of neutrally staring out the window, until they caught sight of their reflection.

It startled them, to say the least.

Although both of their eyes were functioning perfectly, their image showcased deep gouges in their face. Tel-Kar’s blood seeped over their black biomass, and patches of scarred blue skin were visible from where Venom’s claws tore the pieces of Sleeper away. Where their eye once was, was now a bloody, gaping mound of gristle.  

“So, I’ve been thinking about something.” Carnage’s voice jarred them out of their thoughts.

“Did you hurt yourself?” they asked, doing a double take at their reflection. It was back to normal.

“Eat a bag of dicks, but I do have some questions about all of this,” Carnage said. “One being, for example, why did you choose me?”

“I told you why.” Sleeper reached up to feel around their eye. No injury. They were okay. “I need your strength.”

“Yeah, see, that doesn’t quite hold water. I thought it was weird that you went through all the trouble of getting me out of Ravencroft knowing the collateral damage I was gonna cause. But then, Dad practically groveled at your feet to let him help you instead of me.”

“He does that.”

“You implied when we first met that he told you how to find me,” Carnage said.

“Yes, but I didn’t say that explicitly,” Sleeper said.

“You said he warned you about me, and then on our way to Central Park, you said you hadn’t been to New York in a long time. Hell, you didn’t even know your way around the city. That indicates to me that Dad was the only person you talked to before you found me.”

Well, Carnage picked the perfect time to use his last brain cell. It was too soon for him to start putting the pieces together, but it had been a huge mistake to rely on his lack of academic intelligence to keep him from figuring things out. Cletus Kasady wasn’t stupid, and Red certainly wasn’t either. As dangerously easy as it was to forget, when they were combined as one being, Carnage was fiercely cunning.

“But then he was crushed when he saw us together. So why did he tell you?” he asked.

“He let it slip while we were arguing before I came to free you,” Sleeper lied. “Said you were going to rot in Ravencroft.”

“See, Dad’s not the brightest bulb in the shed, but he ain’t that stupid,” Carnage said. “I think you did something to make him tell you. Not only that, but out of everyone who would have helped, you picked an unstable sociopath with a long history of violence to partner with on a highly dangerous, dare I say,  _suicide mission_. Why is that?” Carnage’s question hung in the air and Sleeper tried in vain to push back a wave of panic. The way he said ‘suicide mission’ was dripping with an uncomfortable accusation.

“I didn’t want Father to get hurt,” Sleeper said. “I told you that.”

“But there are other people to choose from,” Carnage said.

“I don’t know anyone else with your level of strength,” Sleeper said. They suddenly felt a twinge of sadness after admitting that. Up until this moment, Sleeper hadn’t realized that the closest thing they actually had to friends were some dead skrulls and their serial killer brother. Although, Sleeper filed Carnage more under terrible business partner they were planning on murdering. “I left Earth before I could form any attachments or contacts.”

“Oh, please, if you came groveling to Daddy Dearest about needing someone to help you save the planet, he woulda pointed you in the right direction,” Carnage said.

“I think you’re overestimating Father’s popularity,” Sleeper said dryly. “Spider-Man hates him, and no one who would listen to him is strong enough to do all the things necessary to kill a planet-eating eldritch monster.”

“Now that’s a heaping pile of donkey shit. If you had brought proof of this threat, you and Dad could have formed an entire team to stop this thing.” Carnage’s unblinking stare made Sleeper feel like they were sitting under an extremely volatile heat lamp. “See, I’m not stupid, Sleeper. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. Yeah, I was open to the idea of meeting my kid brother, but you said you didn’t come find me to bond or get to know me, so again, why do you need me specifically? You even poisoned me to make me come with you. That reeks of desperation to me.” Anger was starting to rise in his voice, and Sleeper realized that Carnage had been digging a grave for them the moment they met. His farce of friendliness after killing Chubby the Clown was just a cunning way to narrow down Sleeper’s motives.  

_Fuuuuuckkk._

“Because…” Sleeper desperately grasped at something that would throw Carnage off the scent of what he was chasing. Every second that passed, Carnage’s body was winding up to attack. What was something believable and yet so out there that it would catch him off guard? It was too risky to use pheromones. Carnage already figured out Sleeper had done something to make Venom talk, and with how steadfast he was in his implied accusation, as soon as they wore off, he would know for sure something outside of himself had changed his mind.

“Why were you so desperate to bring  ** _me_  **, Sleeper?” Carnage’s voice raised an octave when he said Sleeper’s name and the material of the copilot seat groaned with the force of his grip.

“Don’t yell at me!” Sleeper bared their fangs and hissed. Now wasn’t the time to lose focus unless they wanted their unstable older brother to slice them to ribbons.

A terrible idea finally came to mind as Sleeper stared into the face of evil. Carnage was a self-absorbed narcissist. Most serial killers were, and Sleeper knew the time to use that to their advantage was now or never. Kasady had shown mild fondness towards them exactly twice. Red distrusted, and probably despised them, but maybe Kasady’s soft spot would be enough to woo Carnage as a whole. As much as it physically pained them to stroke an unrepentant shit head’s ego, it was the only thing coming to mind that would twist the conversation in their favor.  

“I wanted it to be you because…” Sleeper felt the tips of their own claws bite into the ship’s controls as they took a breath to steady themselves. “Because…I love you.” Saying that made them feel as if their tongue had been rubbed against sandpaper.  

“What?” Carnage asked incredulously.

Too late to take it back. Time to sell it like it was going out of stock.

“The Venom Symbiote’s genetic memory,” Sleeper began. “Before I was born, I was connected to it. All symbiotes are. You can ask Red. She and I are from the same genetic line and we can see the memories of it. The first face I saw was yours: before Eddie, before our parent, it was yours. And…because you were the first bit of reality I knew, I…my infant mind, that is, kind of… _imprinted_ on you.” Sleeper couldn’t resist grimacing. “Red did the same thing. You were the first person she saw. That’s why she loves you.”

“That’s not true!” Carnage shouted so loudly it caused Sleeper to fumble with the controls. “You have no idea what you’re talking about! Red and I are two halves of the same person! I can’t exist without her!”

“Okay! Jesus!” Sleeper said. “Calm down. That’s only why she became devoted immediately. She probably enjoyed how simple and yet fucked up your brain is, and it evolved into...whatever relationship you have now.” They made a helpless gesture at Carnage. “I’m just saying the same principle applies to me. That’s all. Only in a sibling way. Not a creepily obsessive codependency.”     

“So...you…love me?” Carnage’s intensely hostile body language relaxed, and he seemed more confused.

“Yes,” Sleeper said with a surprisingly steady voice. “You’re my brother, but don’t let it get to your head. Even though I’m cursed with a predisposition to love you because of xenobiology, it doesn’t mean I also don’t hate you and everything you stand for.” They eased their grip on the ship’s controls. It didn’t look like there was going to be another fight to the death. “Also, you smell.”

 _“Wow,”_  Carnage said. He was quiet after that, but at least he wasn’t prying anymore. It seemed that Sleeper’s plan for murder by proxy was still safely classified.

With no further bloodshed or accusations, they arrived at their destination, and as far as highly advanced space ship repair shops went, this one was a certified dump. It was the kind of place you had a pretty good chance of receiving a free assault along with your purchase of fuel. It sat upon an asteroid named Genma 12 in the Gemna asteroid belt which cut between the orbits of two uninhabitable ice planets. Thankfully, it was close enough to their destination that the stop didn’t take too much of their time to get where they needed to go.

Sleeper would trust no other mechanic to touch their ship—mostly because it was stolen— and the people who worked here were very discreet with the type of clientele they served. Sleeper couldn’t remember the head mechanic’s name for some reason, but they were excited to have their music player fixed and to never have to listen to Mariah Carey’s voice ever again.

The less reputable clients and cheap labor were probably the only reason this place stayed open, considering the caliber of their competition in the space ship repair industry. Sleeper moved the ship to one of the empty docks, guided by a tiny green, slime-like creature waving colored batons. Sleeper drove the ship into port, and waited until their surroundings vibrated as the magnetic anchors connected the metal outer body.

“Finally,” Sleeper said. “Behave,” they warned Carnage. “If you kill anyone, I’m going to yell at you, and it’s going to be very unpleasant for both of us.”

“If I find out that you lied to me, I’m going to rip you off Tel-Kar, eat you, and then wash you down with a nice chianti and a side of fava beans,” Carnage replied, his arms crossed. “And I’ll find that very pleasant.”

“Don’t be so sensitive,” Sleeper said. “We’re here to get the music player fixed, and I’d like to get back on track right after.” They reached under the control panel, and picked up a vial from the tiny tray they hid underneath.

“What’s that?” Carnage asked as Sleeper swished the greenish liquid inside.

“Payment.”

The brothers exited the ship from the side panel, and were greeted with the overwhelming smell of rocket fuel and the metallic dust.

The docking bay was smaller than the ones found in more reputable businesses. Several alien races, most of them under payed refugees, scuttled about and controlled the various robotic limb-like machines. Sparks rained down on the flat metal floor as the arms went to work on the exposed guts of the various cruisers and supply ships.

Thankfully, although it was loud, it wasn’t enough to cause anything but mild discomfort. Sleeper and Carnage headed down the ramp that was pushed against the side of their ship. Once they reached the floor, they were greeted by a massive woolly alien.

“Sleeper!” the alien cried. “My dude, how has it been?”

“Nice to see you again… friend,” Sleeper said, still unable to remember his name. The head mechanic of the shop stood at almost ten feet tall. The matted brown fur covering his body was streaked with black soot and added to his overwhelming bulk. His face was a strange mix of an elephant’s and a spider’s, including huge ears and eight very expressive eyes.

“I hoped you’d be in this neck of the galaxy.” The mechanic extended a muscular arm and uncurled twelve extremely long, thin fingers with a joint at the end of each that extended into two pseudo fingers meant for clamping. The fingers themselves were a stark contrast to the rest of his massive body, but they were what made Sleeper’s dear friend one of the best mechanics out there.

Sleeper took the mechanic’s outstretched hand and shook it. It was a strangely human gesture, but with the amount of skrull and even some kree that passed through, it wasn’t a mystery where he’d picked it up.

“Good to see you too, my friend,” Sleeper said. “Did A’Rrx miss me?” They felt Carnage’s claws curl around their free arm, and glanced over their shoulder to see him glaring murderously.

“You know it,” the mechanic said. “The old hag is manning the store up front. She’ll be glad you showed up.” His eight luminescent magenta eyes then fixated on Carnage and he bent at the waist to get a closer look. “And who’s this little guy?”

Carnage let out an aggressive hiss and Sleeper forced him further behind them. “Ah, this is my brother, Carnage,” they said.

“Carnage? That’s a pretty intense name. Then again, you Klyntar have some pretty gnarly ones,” the mechanic said.  

Sleeper's left eye twitched as pain radiated from where Carnage's claws bit into their biomass. “He’s…uh, shy.”

“Aw, there’s no need to be shy.” The mechanic crouched down as if he were talking to a couple of kids. “I’m a friendly dude. Is he like you? You know, with the host being kind of like a fancy paperweight? I don’t judge. I take all kinds of clients here being en route to Caabos.”

“The host is still here,” Carnage growled, bearing his teeth.

“Rad!” the mechanic said. “Nice to meet you.” He reached out his hand towards Carnage, and Sleeper promptly backed away, extending both arms to keep Carnage behind them.

“Ah ha ha,” they managed a fake laugh. “He’s…a germaphobe. No offence.”    

“And your nasty little fingers piss me off!” Carnage said. “And what the fuck kind of name is Xax?” Oh, that was his name. It was then Sleeper realized that their friend had been wearing a name tag this entire time, and that his name consisted of the only three letters of his people’s language that corresponded to the English alphabet.

“Yeah, so I just need my music player fixed, and we’ll get out of your hair, uh, fur,” Sleeper said, backing up a few more steps and keeping their body safely between Carnage and the one person who could end Mariah Carey’s reign of terror.  

“All right,” the mechanic said with a friendly wave. “You know the drill. The store is up front. We’ll get you out of here in no time!”

Sleeper nodded stiffly and then herded Carnage through the repair stations of several ships until they got to an entrance resembling a garage door found on Earth. It was far heavier, and as it lifted to give them passage, it hissed and released a few plumes of hydraulic gas.

They quickly shoved Carnage through, and were greeted by the bright lights of the storefront. Aisles of goods with the expiration dates conveniently missing stood like an army before a row of chairs occupied by seven bored-looking aliens. Behind the waiting patrons, the filmy windows of the waiting room showed the barren landscape of the asteroid.

A big, insectoid alien looked up from a magazine featuring what seemed to be a cockroach in a sensual pose on the cover. He clicked his mandibles in disgust, and then went back to reading.

“What did you call me?” Carnage started forward and Sleeper raised an arm to block his path.

“No, Carnage,” they said as if scolding  a disobedient child. “Just… go pick out some snacks, okay?”

Carnage gave them a poisonous stare but thankfully obliged and started wandering the aisles of bagged alien foods and jars that contained things even Sleeper couldn’t guess the identity of.

Feeling that Carnage was safely occupied for at least a few minutes before his attention span wore out, Sleeper made their way to the metal desk situated by the door. It was rundown and covered with old paperwork. A control panel to the airlock vault on the ceiling was visible where drawers should have been; not a bad robbery deterrent in Sleeper’s opinion.

The ancient skrull woman manning the desk sat next to it, radiating a homicidal misery that, no matter what planet you were from, only retail work inspired. Her sunken eyes stared out the windows as if she were considering opening the vault above her to be sucked out and crushed by the vacuum.

“A’Rrx,” Sleeper greeted. “Looking as lovely as ever.” The skrull turned to him, and the vertebrae of her neck creaked in protest. Deep wrinkles were etched across her green face, while two pointed ears with chunks missing out of their edges jutted out of her long, white hair.

“Like you would know, parasite,” she wheezed out.

“That’s racist!” Carnage yelled from a nearby aisle, holding a jar containing what looked to be some sort of fetus.    

“Who’s that?” she asked. Her voice was raspy and low, as if she spent a good portion of her life screaming. “Your boyfriend?”

“Hell no, I ain’t gay!”

“Snacks, Carnage!” Sleeper yelled back in warning. “And put the fetus down. I’m not buying it!”

“Buzzkill,” Carnage sang mockingly as he returned to his snack search.

“My brother,” Sleeper said as they turned back to A’Rrx.   

“Did you bring the goods?” she asked with more restraint. “Can’t get anything else being chained here by my record.” Sleeper knew she was the only remaining member of a hoard of prisoners delivered to the shop as free labor. The rest had been lost in a dust storm a few decades back while they were trying to pull in a cruiser into the dock. Convenient how all of their safety lines had been severed save for hers, but Sleeper made it a point not to think too hard on it.      

“Sure did.” Sleeper opened their fist to reveal the vial and subtly handed it over to A’Rrx. They looked over their shoulder to make sure none of the patrons noticed, and sure enough they were in various stages of spacing out or reading the suggestive magazines provided.

“Thanks.” A’Rrx took the vial, unplugged the top, and downed the green liquid within. She shuddered and smacked her thin lips before she reached into a nearby drawer and took out Sleeper’s payment. It was a 50 percent off coupon, and Sleeper nodded their thanks before scanning the tiny store and finding Carnage in front of the hardware items.

Sleeper made their way over and saw he held a roll of duct tape. “Holy shit, they have good old-fashioned Kentucky Chrome out here!” He looked up at Sleeper and stood. “We’re getting this. You can never have too much duct tape. And it’s space duct tape!”

“Great,” Sleeper said in exasperation, keeping watch on the other customers. So far, the reaction to their presence had been underwhelming, but not every race took kindly to Klyntar. “I’ll buy it for you if you behave.”  

“What did you just give that lady?” Carnage asked.

“I can secrete a fluid that acts as a hallucinogenic.”

“Man, that’s nasty!” Carnage said a bit too loudly.

“Shhhh—Shut up!” Sleeper whispered harshly. “It’s kind of like a form of LSD.”

“Wait, so you’re like one of them poison frogs?”

“I don’t like that comparison, but sort of.”

“Hold up. You’ve been on my ass about the Manhattan Children’s Choir, but you just performed a drug deal with a geriatric alien lady?” Carnage asked in amused disbelief.

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds a lot worse.” Sleeper looked over to A’Rrx. She was back to staring out the window, but her pupils were constantly growing and shrinking. Whatever hallucinations she was seeing were obviously bringing her peace, so Sleeper called that a win. “Let’s just go sit.”

Once they got situated in two uncomfortable chairs, Carnage kept talking, but Sleeper made a point to ignore him. It was mostly just psychobabble about his unpleasant nihilistic philosophy that Sleeper cared nothing about. Sure, existence often times sucked, and there was little meaning to the suffering Sleeper came across on their exploration of the cosmos, but they couldn’t understand Carnage’s utter dedication to it. He thrived off of having no set goals or direction. He just wanted people to die and suffer horribly while doing so.   

Sleeper, meanwhile, couldn’t imagine life without a purpose. Theirs was to make things better for Venom, and by extension, for themselves. It was unbearable to think of how Venom must feel back on Earth: alone, scared, and left in the dark about whether their prodigy was alive or dead.

His scream rang in Sleeper’s head again, acting as a harbinger to all the awful things they kept bottled away through distraction. Now sitting here in a shitty mechanic shop on a desolate asteroid a million miles from home, Sleeper was out of distractions. There was nothing to shield them from the reality that they were traveling with the very nightmare bequeathed to them from their symbiote parent: Carnage.

Thinking about their parent’s relationship was usually enough to quell the wave of trauma they had no way of processing. Eddie Brock’s love, regret, and a desire to do right by the person he came to view as his everything was what Sleeper’s birth symbolized. They latched onto it like a hungry leech, desperate to feel the intensity of something that wasn’t the ghosts of their deranged siblings.

Venom’s screaming got even louder until it filled the whole store, but no one else reacted. Carnage still tried to get their attention, A’Rrx tripped balls behind her desk, and the insectoid alien continued reading his questionable magazine.

Sleeper jerked in surprise as something cold and slimy touched their shoulder, and Venom’s scream dissipated.

A gelatinous alien stared at them through one large eye, gurgling in concern, and Sleeper realized they had put their hands over where Tel-Kar’s ears were. They lowered them slowly and nodded, assuming the alien was asking if they were all right.

“Hey, tentacles to yourself!” Carnage spat defensively. A few tendrils rose in warning from his body and he gave a guttural vocalization that was a mix of a growl and a hiss. The alien immediately backed off with a startled squeal and went back to searching magazines. Carnage crossed his arms and sat back in the chair with his legs spread like a caveman. “You should thank me,” he said. “It was probably trying to eat you.”

Sleeper didn’t respond. They had nothing to say to Carnage, especially after where their thoughts had taken them.

“ _You’re welcome, Carnage,_ ” Carnage said in a mockingly high-pitched voice out of the corner of his mouth. “ _You’re the coolest brother ever for protecting my personal space._ ”

Sleeper rubbed their eyes. How long had they been sitting here? It felt like hours.

“Hey, stop ignoring me,” Carnage hissed lowly. “I don’t like it.” After not getting the response he wanted, he started kicking his legs and fidgeting. The metal legs of his chair squeaked unpleasantly against the linoleum floor, and it caused several of the waiting aliens to glare at them both. However, Sleeper refused to give him the satisfaction of their attention, even going so far as to ignore a slimy tendril repeatedly jabbing the scent pit on their cheek. Red smelled like a mix of vomit and rotten meat, so it was a herculean effort on Sleeper’s part not to pick up their own chair and beat Carnage over the head with it.   

Thankfully, the mechanic, who’s name Sleeper had already forgotten, entered the front of the shop through the garage door near A’Rrx’s desk.

“Sleeper, you’re all good to go, my man!” he said cheerfully. “Lucky for you, I had a few substitute parts that work for your music player!” His great fluffy tail swished behind him in excitement. Sleeper had always found his passion a bit overbearing, but having a good-natured mechanic in your back pocket came in handy when you travelled a lot.

It was a good reminder that dwelling on dark thoughts was counterproductive. Therefore, it was far more pragmatic to let their traumatic genetic memories fester, and then blossom naturally into a far more manageable mental illness. Time to take back control, and move onto the next phase of their mission.

“Thanks a lot,” Sleeper said. They meant it. Even if they were bad at names. “You have no idea what torture is until you listen to the same song for three days in a row.”

“I can imagine, and it’s totally not radical.”

“I hate the way you talk,” Carnage said.

“Just ignore him,” Sleeper said as they waved him off, even though they completely agreed. “It’s been working for me.”

“Heh, sure thing, my brother.” The mechanic pulled out a small tablet from his heavy jacket. “Let me just ring up your total.”

“He’s  _not_ your brother, you moldy Chewbacca-knockoff son of a bitch!”  

“Hold on, I have a 50 percent off coupon.” Sleeper felt a rush of pride as they looked down to get one last glance at their prize before handing it over.

Within that brief second, a choir of screams rose in collective terror, followed by several cracks and wet squelching. The pungent smell of blood and bodily waste immediately filled the small shop front, and Sleeper’s body went rigid as the last dying moan faded. Their hands curled into fists and crumpled the coupon. They were very rarely wrong when it came to the familiar sounds of a murder, but some small, infantile part of Sleeper still hoped Carnage hadn’t done what they thought he had.  

Sure enough, as they stiffly lifted their head, they were greeted by a literal massacre. Every alien in the waiting room laid prone in various states of dismemberment. The flayed corpse of the insectoid alien was strewn over his suggestive magazine, as if in his final seconds of life, he gave his all to protect its contents. The gelatinous alien who had checked in earlier to make sure Sleeper was alright, was now nothing more than a smear of greenish blue across the windows.

The worst was the mechanic. He was practically ripped in half horizontally and still twitching in a spreading pool of his vibrant crimson blood. Carnage stood on his chest holding the muddy red tubes of his intestines, clearly in the middle of pulling them out.  

“Carnage,” they began with a forced pleasant tone. “What happened?”

“He, uh, died of natural causes,” Carnage said in mock innocence, putting his hands behind his back and dropping the intestines. They landed on the floor with a wet plop. “And then I decided to…dismember him?”

“ _Why?_ ” Sleeper asked through a strained smile.

“…Science?”

“And everyone else?”

“Oh, that was totally me.” Carnage let out a laugh and hopped down from the mechanic’s chest. “And here I thought killing aliens wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as killing a human being.”    

Sleeper’s grin slipped into a murderous grimace as they stalked forward and snatched Carnage by the wrist. They yanked him forward, forcing him to face the full force of their fury.

“How is it that I take my eyes off of you for two seconds and you manage to kill an entire waiting room?”  

“Skill and precision.” Carnage snatched his wrist away. “And don’t grab me like that!”  

“That was a rhetorical question, _you goddamn psychopath!_ ” Sleeper shrieked. “I had a 50 percent off coupon! Now I’ll never get to use it! I sold my sweat for it! I had a great thing going and you turned it to shit!”

“Whoa, what?” Carnage asked through a stifled giggle that enraged Sleeper further.

“I had half off, you goon! That’s prime savings!”

“That’s seriously why you’re yelling at me? You’re mad about a 50 percent off coupon?” Carnage asked in astonishment. “I mean, now it’s free, so you should be thanking me.”

“Moron, I’ll never get this type of service again thanks to you!” Sleeper shouted. “I was saving so much of the currency I’ve been syphoning illegally! Do you know how hard it is to get those numbers?”

Carnage opened his mouth, but Sleeper raised a hand, cutting him off.

“Don’t answer that. Of course you don’t know the value of a dollar. Now the one mechanic okay with working on a stolen ship, who’s secretary I could bribe into giving me unlimited discounts, is a mess on the floor. First, you terrorize a mom and pop donut shop, then you commit vehicular homicide, then Mariah Carey, and now this!” Sleeper gestured to the pile of gore that was once their friend. “Can’t you do anything right?”

That particular phrase seemed to have an effect, because Sleeper thought for sure they saw the very slightest of flinches. However, when Carnage spoke again, he merely seemed aloof and annoyed, like a teenager after being caught smoking pot.

“Hey, I spared the green lady,” he said. He made his way over to where A’Rrx was now slumped over her desk and poked her shoulder. “Although, I don’t think she needed me to help her along in the dying department.”

“Oh no,” Sleeper said as they leapt over the desk and pulled the skrull up by her shoulders. Greenish yellow foam coated her mouth, while her eyes were nearly solid black. Sleeper couldn’t hear her heart either. “A’Rrx? Please tell me your still alive! You don’t deserve to go out like this!” Sleeper shook her shoulders and her head lolled back limply. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you’re a violent war criminal, but I really don’t need this right now.”  

“Hold on, Sleeper, I have an idea,” Carnage said, leaning over to look into A’Rrx’s eyes. “Blink once if you’re not dead.”  

One eyelid drooped slightly.

“Uh, I’m not sure if that counts.”

“She’s dead.” Sleeper let go of her shoulders, and her forehead hit the desk with a thud.

“Looks like she overdosed on your bodily fluids,” Carnage said. “Congrats on your first murder.”

“Shame on me for thinking I could be happy.” The frustrated growl they produced from Tel-Kar’s throat carried a hint of whininess they despised. Traveling with Carnage was bringing out the worst in them, clearly. “Also, I didn’t murder her.”

“Nah, you just enabled and exploited her addiction for your own personal gain until it killed her,” Carnage said with a twinge of sarcasm. “Seems murder by proxy is your modus operandi.”

“I’m not a serial killer,” Sleeper said. “And how do you even know what that means?”

“Do you know how many times I’ve been arrested?” Carnage let out a fond sigh before that awful smugness returned. “Real talk though, you killed this lady.”    

“I did not. She was responsible for herself. Besides, at least she doesn’t have to worry about this mess.” Sleeper pointed at the mechanic’s corpse. “It and you are my problems.”

“You seriously don’t care about these people, do you?” Carnage asked as Sleeper started to pace around the murder scene, sidestepping stray body parts and shaking their head in an attempt to not panic.  

“I care!” Sleeper whirled around and was infuriated to see Carnage standing with his arms crossed and still very smug. “That mechanic could fix anything, and you’ve turned him into a horror attraction!”

“Your lack of self awareness is really something to behold, I hope you know that,” Carnage said flatly.

“Not only that, now we have to cover this up,” Sleeper continued, choosing to ignore the jab.

“What? Why?” Carnage asked. “I’ve never covered up a crime in my life!”

“Because,” Sleeper began and then forced themselves to calm down enough to explain why committing mass murder in a high-traffic area of space was not a good thing. “As far as ship repair shops go, this one is pretty shitty, but it’s also relatively close to our destination.” Sleeper made a sweeping motion with their hand at the corpses around them. “If the wrong people come by, this can easily be traced back to me, and I’ve already got enough people who want to incinerate me.”

“Woah, someone is after you?” Carnage asked, seemingly genuinely impressed.

“Only a few,” Sleeper said. “Now,” they turned their gaze to the corpse of the mechanic, “I hope you're hungry. Cause we’re in for quite the meal.”

“But he’s huge,” Carnage whined.

“We can get rid of the other bodies by opening the airlock,” they pointed to the vault on the ceiling, “but he’s not going to fit. We need to get him down to size.”

“Fine, but I’ve never cleaned up after myself in my life, and I’m going to complain the whole time.”

“Then we’re starting from the feet,” Sleeper said. “And this time, you’re going to eat the butthole.”     

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 51
> 
> Sleeper Body Count Meter: 1
> 
> Thank you for getting this far if you have! Your comments really really keep me on schedule and updating, so I appreciate every single one that's been left so far! Let's hang out! I feel like we can be friends if you've read this far into the insanity. Come see me @princess-of-peachtrees on tumblr! I'm super anxious and will probably send you things randomly as an awkward friendship dance, but feel free to send me things back if you decide you want to chat!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper attempts to teach Carnage the value of cleaning up after himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long! But, we're back, and I think this chapter is the longest one so far! So enjoy! 
> 
> Thank you to bluedeeda for betaing this one!
> 
> Billy Bentine, Carnage's childhood friend, appears in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #28 and Carnage: It's a Wonderful Life.

The mechanic’s corpse laid on a pile of tantalizing magazines while souvenir travel mugs featuring beautiful alien women stood at attention around his funeral pyre. Sleeper finished the final touch of putting a shock blanket they took out of the packaging over the gaping split that spread from his chest to his lower abdomen. Sleeper and Carnage then solemnly stood on either side of him.

“I’m sorry that you died,” Sleeper said, hands crossed in front of them. “Or rather, I’m sorry that Carnage has the attention span of a newt—”

“Fuck you.”

“—and that homicide is how he deals with boredom.”   

“You know, as far as funerals go, I don’t think this is the nicest one,” Carnage said.

“How do you figure?” Sleeper asked, feeling a touch defensive since this entire situation was Carnage’s fault.

“Well, for one, you duct taped his intestines back inside his body.” Carnage pulled back the shock blanket to reveal a mess of silver tape barely holding the large mechanic together. His insides were practically spilling out from the makeshift repair, and Sleeper yanked the blanket away from Carnage to cover the mess.

“Don’t be disrespectful. He was my friend, and you’re going to eat him after this, anyway,” Sleeper said.

“Well,” Carnage began, his tone betraying that he was gearing up for a lecture, “after my dad killed my mom in front of me—”

 _“Oh, my God,”_ Sleeper whispered.

“—her funeral had flowers.” He said it so matter-of-factly, that Sleeper took a moment to resist punching him in the face. “And after my dad got the electric chair and the state released his body to his family, his funeral _also_ had flowers. I mean, I wasn’t there because I got placed in a boy’s home since none of my other family wanted to take me in, but I heard it was lovely.”

“Well, why don’t you go outside and look for some, then?” Sleeper asked through clenched teeth.

“I don’t think flowers grow on asteroids, Sleeps,” Carnage said.

“Don’t call me that.” Sleeper watched a small stream of blood trickle down what’s-his-name’s cheek and prepared to speak again. “You were a good friend, and an even better mechanic.” Sleeper nudged Carnage with an elbow a few times.

Carnage groaned and turned on the flashlight he was holding. It served as a replacement for a vigil candle since the convenience store didn’t carry them or any alien equivalent. It was probably for the best since having any kind of open flame in a place full of rocket fuel was asking for trouble.    

“So...uh…” Wow, this was embarrassing. What was his name again?

“Xax,” Carnage supplied.

“Yeah, that,” Sleeper said. “I hope that you are with whatever gods your people believe in, and that you can look at sexy alien ladies with inexplicably large breasts whenever you want.” They gestured to the bed of magazines. “I’ll miss you, and there will always be a part of me that will be anticipating seeing you for my next repairs. Shopping for a new mechanic is going to be really difficult for me, so it’s extra awful that you’re gone. Goodbye, uh…”

“Xax,” Carnage said again.

“Yes, goodbye.” Sleeper closed their eyes and hung their head in a moment of silence for their dearly departed. Once that was over though, he wasn’t getting any deader, and Sleeper pulled the shock blanket away from his lower half and looked at Carnage. “Okay, now eat. We have places to be, and I want to get this mess cleaned before someone from the back starts looking for him.”

“I’m glad you’re able to heal from such a personal tragedy,” Carnage said, his tone betraying how amusing he found this entire situation. Sleeper had no clue why he did, and chalked it up to the fact that he was a literal sociopath with no regard for sentient life.

The mechanic’s feet were similar to his hands, with twelve, long hairy toes, and Sleeper suddenly felt more relieved than anything that they weren’t going to be putting them in their mouth. “Eat up.”

Carnage hissed and knelt down, picking up one of the creepy feet. A whine escaped his throat as he extended his prehensile tongue until it was half an inch away from the sole of the mechanic’s foot. He held it there. It trembled. Carnage closed his eyes and turned his face slightly away. “I can’t,” he finally said. “His fur is so nasty and he’s huge.”

“Didn’t Red eat two hundred cows, once?” Sleeper asked.

“Yeah, but cows are delicious,” Carnage said. “This guy looks like a shag carpet from the 70s, and I don’t think I need to tell you how gross those are.”

“Good point,” Sleeper said, placing a finger under their mouth to properly think. They studied the massacre, knowing the fur had to go somehow. Sleeper wasn’t sure about all the shenanigans their dearly departed friend got into in his spare time, but if the abundance of weird magazines and various posters of slime aliens with boobs strewn around his office where any indicator, even Carnage didn’t deserve to bare the aftertaste.

The store didn’t sell knives. All of them consistently went missing ever since A’Rrx started working—to the point Sleeper’s poor murdered friend had stopped ordering them. They still hadn’t found where she’d been hoarding them.

They headed towards the body of the insectoid alien. Out of all the corpses in the room, his had fared the most poorly, second only to the slime alien smeared across the windows. However, the sharp edge of his mandibles caught Sleeper’s eye. Now that was something they could use.

Crouching down, they took hold of the mandible and pulled. It came off easy. Sleeper guessed the human equivalent would be pulling apart a cooked lobster. Greenish translucent liquid poured out of the new hole in the alien’s face, which oddly enough smelled like apricots. Sleeper then found a bucket on one of the shelves of merchandise and scooped the leftover slime alien into it.

Their poor friend was still at rest upon his altar of sexy magazines, and Sleeper looked down at the bucket and at the mandible in their hands. Was it disrespectful to shave their murdered friend of his natural fur so that their brother who murdered him in the first place could eat him to hide the evidence? Probably. Was he also now dead and would want Sleeper, his really good friend who gave him a lot of money, to continue on? Also probably.

The decision now made, Sleeper returned to the mechanic’s body, lifted his right leg, and began to shave. It was a strenuous operation. At least whatever substance the slime alien consisted of made the fur come off easier. The sharpness of the insectiod alien’s mandible never dulled either, and a substantial pile of fur started to grow on the floor.

Sleeper looked up from their work every now and then to keep tabs on Carnage in case some poor alien from the back came looking for their boss. Every glance Sleeper found him poking around the massacre. It wasn’t until the third take that Sleeper realized he was actually taking random objects off the victims’ possession. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for his selection: jewelry, a tablet (shattered), a boot, and the magazine featuring the suggestively lounging cockroach.

At first, Sleeper was confused, until they remembered Carnage was a serial killer. Collecting mementos to remember their crimes by was a pretty standard affair. Carnage stopped by the beheaded corpse of a deceptively human-looking alien and hummed to himself, obviously mulling over what to collect. The alien’s head laid about a foot away from the body in a nest of blood-soaked golden hair. One eye was half-lidded, while the other was covered by an eyepatch. Sleeper remembered that the alien was a ba-bani—a warlike race that enjoyed murder nearly as much as Carnage.

What one had been doing in a mechanic shop so far from his home planet was beyond Sleeper.

Carnage picked the head up and stared at it thoughtfully for a few seconds, tilting it this way and that as if he were inspecting an antique. He finally settled on taking the eyepatch. Satisfied, he unceremoniously dropped the head on the ba-bani’s chest and piled his loot on A’Rrx’s desk next to her body.      

“Even his skin is gross,” Carnage remarked.

“It tastes fine, I’m sure.” They weren’t sure. It was a sickly grey color that was beyond unappetizing and the calf tattoo of a busty slime alien pole dancing on a wrench didn’t help, but Sleeper’s non-murderous reputation was on the line, and they offered Carnage no pity for the task at hand. They finished the legs and shook the stray hairs off the mandible. “Get started.”   

Carnage knelt by the corpse. “You know, you remind me of my friend, Billy,” he said. “Except shittier.”

“You had a friend?” Sleeper asked doubtfully.

“Yes, Sleeper, I had a friend,” Carnage said. “A best friend, actually.”

“How did that poor kid get tangled up with you?”

“Well, it all started when my dad beat up my mom so badly she had to stay in the hospital, and it was after I pushed Nana Kasady down the stairs, so I didn’t have a babysitter. That was the first time social services was given temporary custody." Carnage said as if gearing up to tell a fairy tale. “So, I got to go to summer camp!”

“Wow.” Sleeper rubbed their eyes in exasperation. “Summer camp.”

“Yes! Camp Wak-Sa-Hatee,” Carnage said fondly. “I did a lot of cool stuff: fishing, learning to tie knots, hiding in the woods and killing small animals—oh, I also lit firecrackers and smoke bombs inside the girls’ cabin!”   

“Why?” Sleeper sighed, kneading their temples.

“I don’t know other than it was fun, I guess.” Carnage shrugged, ripped into the mechanic’s thigh, and swallowed the meat with a wet gulp. “I know _now_ that I like terrorizing women I know out of a misplaced need for female attention after watching my mom die during my formative years, but back then, I couldn’t tell you.”

That was…surprisingly introspective and yet so fucked up Sleeper decided not to address it.

“And of course, I got into massive trouble with the camp counselors,” Carnage continued. “And I knew they were going to bully me.” His white eyes narrowed as if he were glaring at the memory. “People who have institutionalized power always bully people who don’t do what they want.”

“I mean, endangering the lives of those girls warranted some discipline,” Sleeper said.

 _“Anyway!”_ Carnage said a bit louder. “I was in hiding, knowing I was going to be chewed out, when I heard the nicest voice I ever did hear!” He held his hand out and made a grand sweeping motion. “An angel appeared in the form of a black kid dressed like a sixty-year-old man. He said he was the one who scared the girls and took the full heat. When I asked him why he did it, and he said it was because we were friends. I never had a friend before, and after that, we became inseparable.”

“And on the last day of camp you drowned him in a creek and it was presumed an accident, right?” Sleeper asked.  

“I’ll have you know, I _didn’t_ murder him.” Carnage crossed his arms with a huff.

“You…didn’t?” Sleeper couldn’t hide the astonishment in their tone. There was a person tied to Cletus Kasady who wasn’t dead. Now, that was a miracle. Carnage had refused to speak with anyone in Ravencroft, and certainly hadn’t mentioned any childhood friend. Perhaps there was more to him than Sleeper knew.    

“I _tried_ to murder him.”

“ _Annnd_ we’re back,” Sleeper sighed. “But since I’ve already listened this far in, what actually happened to him?”  

“Oh,” Carnage took a bite from the stump of the mechanic’s leg and continued speaking with his mouth full, “he developed a gambling addiction after visiting Vegas, chose it over his family, and was in the process of embezzling money from the factory he was working for so he could escape to Mexico.”

“Huh.” Sleeper was genuinely surprised. That story certainly went from zero to one hundred fairly quickly. “He already sounds pretty shitty.”

“Like I said, you’re shittier,” Carnage teased with a jagged smirk.

“Thanks,” Sleeper deadpanned.

“You’re welcome!” he practically sang as he finished the last of the mechanic’s legs. When he spoke again, there was no bravado or the glee from trying to make Sleeper uncomfortable. It was lower and disturbed. “I sought him out because killing someone I knew would throw the authorities off since that’s not my usual shtick. He asked me to kill him as Cletus, not Carnage. I don’t know why I agreed. Spider-Man was right there, and without Red I can’t beat him. I _knew_ that.” The thin tendrils wriggling around his body began to whip in agitation. “Why _the fuck_ did I do that?”

“How should I know?” Sleeper said nonchalantly. “I gave up trying to figure you out the moment I read your files. What I want to know, is why your mom turned you over to social services of all things? Seems a little extreme for a hospital visit."

“Oh, that? Shit, uh…” Carnage picked a chunk of flesh out from between his teeth with his pinky talon as he thought. “Oh, yeah! I remember now! She was afraid that if she left me alone with my dad he’d…do stuff to me.” The last part was said with a slight hesitation. Carnage took a viscous bite out of the mechanic’s lower torso. His back was stiff and the way he crunched through the bone made it seem like he was angry with himself for saying too much.

It took Sleeper a moment to realize what Carnage meant by ‘do stuff’, and when the implication sank in thanks to Father’s knowledge, it made them feel sick. Sleeper knew talking about this at all was probably some sort of manipulation tactic on Carnage’s part. He wasn’t above using his traumatic childhood to make people feel sorry for him.

Sleeper read the files though. The signs of abuse had been there for years, and no one gave enough shits to do anything about it until it was too late.

Cletus Kasady was a terrible fucking person who deserved to be thrown into the sun, but…he hadn’t deserved the absolute torture he went through before he had a choice.

Carnage seemed lost in thought as he mechanically chewed on the mechanic’s lower spine. His blank expression reminded Sleeper of how he had...what did he call it? Right, _dissociated_ on the Brooklyn Bridge.     

“At least you didn’t end up in the hospital from camp,” Sleeper finally said. “With how often you were admitted with injuries from falling down stairs, it was a wonder you survived outside your own home.”

Carnage looked at them, mechanic meat hanging from his teeth and his eyespots thinner, as if he were squinting. Then they widened slightly, as if he suddenly got a joke, and he swallowed the hunk of flesh to chuckle. “Yeah, it sure was strange that I only actually kept hurting myself when I was _inside_ my house.”  

“You were an awfully clumsy kid, weren’t you?” Sleeper asked in mock ignorance.

“Oh yeah,” Carnage said, waving a hand. “Super clumsy. I would run into door knobs, fall off the swing, that kind of stuff. Never mastered riding a bike.”

“Couldn’t figure out how to balance with no training wheels?” Sleeper asked, not sure why they were finding this conversation so amusing.

“Yeah, that was how I kept breaking my ankles.”

“Now, you fell down the stairs all the time,” Sleeper said as if they were a reporter interviewing a celebrity. “Fascinating. Were they built unevenly?”

“No, no,” Carnage said. “It was like an invisible force pushed me down them. So weird, right?”

“Completely,” Sleeper said. “I’m surprised your parents didn’t do anything about them since you were hurting yourself all the time.”  

“What can I say? Those stairs really had it out for me. The first time, I just broke my arm. The second time, it was my arm _and_ my leg,” Carnage said. “I’m just really, really bad with stairs and most would say it’s a damn shame Darwinism didn’t come for me.”  

“Your mother must have been clumsy, too,” Sleeper said.

“She really was. She was constantly explaining to people how she _also_ fell down the stairs and hit herself with cabinet doors,” Carnage said. “Always tripping over herself, the poor woman.”

“Maybe that’s where you got it?”

“You mean like, genetic?” Carnage mused, his voice slightly strained with trying to hold back laughter. “Possibly. Then again, maybe it was something in the house.”

“Like some sort of mold?” Sleeper asked. “Making you both disoriented all the time?”

“There’s an idea,” Carnage snickered. “It’s weird how I stopped getting hurt all the time after my dad got the electric chair and I got sent to a group home...or foster care. Whichever.”

“Maybe,” Sleeper paused to bite back their own laughter, “Maybe, it was something your dad was bringing into the house?”

“I can’t for the life of me remember what that man did for a living,” Carnage said. “But could have been some type of toxin.”

“Or a virus?” Sleeper added.

“Or maybe alcohol? But I don’t know. It’s a mystery.” Carnage said. “CPS couldn’t figure it out, so I guess we’ll never solve the mystery of why I kept falling down the stairs.”

There was a beat of silence until they both burst into laughter. The line of logic law enforcement followed when dealing with Roscoe Kasady’s case was just…so absurd. Instead of getting Kasady help for the obvious trauma and abuse he suffered, he was tossed into foster care and forgotten about because obviously all his injuries were caused by his own clumsiness.

 _Fantastic work by the NYPD and CPS,_ Sleeper thought as they forced back more uncontrollable laughter. _Now he’s a serial killer, and I have to kill him._ As soon as they thought it, everything within themselves stiffened. The artificial atmosphere within the shop suddenly felt very cold, and Tel-Kar’s body seemed far away. _I have to kill him. He’s going to keep hurting people, and it has to be me who stops him._

When they started this, the answer seemed so easy. Cletus Kasady gave up his humanity and now thrived on destruction and chaos, so death was the apt punishment. It was black and white, as Sleeper felt most decisions were—Tel-Kar’s lobotomy included.  

Cletus Kasady’s demise should have been easy too, and for the most part, it still was. The only difference now was that Sleeper wasn’t sure their hands were going to come out entirely clean. So they had no idea why they said what they did next.

“I guess I have to protect you from the stairs, now.”

Carnage stopped mid-chew and Sleeper braced against sweeping tidal wave of horror crashing down on top of them. Why the _fuck_ did they say that? They refused to look at Carnage, and instead continued on with shaving the mechanic’s stomach while ripping pieces of duct tape away.

“...I didn’t mean that,” was all they could quietly muster.

“…alright,” they heard Carnage say.

The only sound was the wet crunch and squelch of Carnage working his way into what Sleeper guessed what the mechanic’s small intensities.

Sleeper stared so hard at the mechanic’s fur on their side of the corpse that they could almost count every follicle. “Why did you tell me all that?” they finally asked.

“Why did I tell you what?” Carnage’s voice was rough with annoyance, and Sleeper knew they had to tread carefully.  

“Over fifteen of the greatest minds in criminal psychology have failed to get you to talk about any part of your life that you don’t just use to freak people out,” Sleeper said, keeping their eyes averted.

Carnage didn’t answer for a long time. So long, in fact, that Sleeper thought he wasn’t going to, which was honestly relieving since they regretted even asking.

However, he did eventually answer, but his tone was guarded and quiet. “Because you don’t feel sorry for me.”

“You’re right. I don’t,” Sleeper said truthfully. “I think you’re a monster.”

“Good.” Another meaty tear and a few crunches indicated Carnage went back to eating. “You’d do best to keep that mentality.”

They both fell into silence. Sleeper lost themselves in thought as they continued to shave off the mechanic’s nasty fur. This was going to be harder than they expected. Even though their decision to kill Carnage was definitely for the good of everyone, there was way more grey in this area than what was first assumed. Sleeper didn’t know what to do with grey.

The sliding of metal-on-metal and the hiss of hydraulics alerted that the door to the back had been opened. Sleeper prepared to expel a hallucinogenic in aerosol form to make sure none of the workers saw their half-eaten boss.

However, when they looked up the new arrival wasn’t a hapless employee.

“Oh, this is not good,” they muttered.

A group of seven klyntar and their hosts stood in the doorway. The mechanic must have sent out a distress beacon as he was being murdered, and because Sleeper was so lucky, the very people who wanted them dead had been close enough to intercept it.

Now here they were, taking in the mess of body parts and viscera with varying levels of rage and disgust. All of them were black as night like Venom. Their leader was a tall, female alien with four arms. Thick, flowing waves of white-speckled biomass cascaded down her back and over her shoulders, giving her a living mane of deep space. She was huge, imposing, and possessed a dominant aura that the other klyntar crowded around; a team leader if Sleeper ever saw one.

Her face split horizontally to reveal several rows of sharp teeth as she raised one thickly muscled arm to point at Sleeper.  

 **“Heretic,”** she hissed.

Sleeper raised their hands in surrender and made themselves smaller in an effort to communicate that a fight was the last thing they wanted. “We don’t want any trouble. There doesn’t need to be violence.”

“What’s happening?” Carnage said through a mouthful of intestines after he pulled his head out from the open cavity of the mechanic’s body. Chunks of meat and gore still hung from his jaws. “Oh sweet, other symbiotes!”

Before Sleeper could even open their mouth to further attempt to diffuse the situation, Carnage flung a web of tendrils out from his hand towards the klyntar. The female leader dodged to the side, and the red and black ropes of tissue attached to a shorter masculine klyntar behind her. A shriek of horror filled the store as he was dragged across the floor to Carnage’s feet.

Red’s biomass twisted around the flailing strands of the weaker symbiote like dye spreading through water. The host continued screaming. His teeth gnashed and his claws swiped at the growing mass of black-veined tendrils spreading across his body.

The other klyntar watched in abject horror as the inky blackness receded from the host alien beneath. The symbiote pitifully wailed and gave its all to hold onto the host. To its comrades, it was probably the most gruesome death they had ever seen one of their own go through.

Their gazes rose collectively to stare at Sleeper, who could only make helplessly embarrassed gestures.

The black symbiote’s screams faded as it was assimilated into Carnage’s body.

 _I’m so sorry_ , Sleeper mouthed, utterly embarrassed at this dishonorable and shameless display of cannibalism. They lifted a hand to partially cover their face in exasperation.

When Carnage finished, the only thing left was a completely devastated naked frog-like alien. It all took less than five seconds, and the frog alien let out a pained cry, clutching at his body as if trying to find any trace of his symbiote.

Carnage flexed his biceps. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about!”

“Carnage!” Sleeper yelled, hating the shrill edge to their voice.

Carnage crossed his arms like a petulant child and huffed. “Oh, what now?”   

“What do you mean ‘what now’, you dumbass?” Sleeper got to their feet and stormed over to bare their fangs in Carnage’s face. “You just absorbed another symbiote!”

“Uh, yeah, that’s what they’re for, duh,” Carnage said.

“Uh, no, they most certainly are not!”

“Why are you against fun?”

“Cold-blooded murder is not fun!”

The remaining klyntar and the host on the ground watched the exchange in traumatized disbelief, their eyes moving in unison from Sleeper to Carnage upon every exchange.

“Oh, this is so classic you!” Carnage then said in an exaggerated voice while waving his hands, “Hi, I’m Sleeper and I grew up inside Dad’s asshole so now I have to control everything to feel like I’m finally independent.”

Oh, he fucking went there. Two could play at that game.

“ _Ha!_ ” Sleeper belted out without even trying to hide the hysterical rage in their voice. “That’s what you think?”

“That’s what I know!”

“Well then, howdy, I’m Carnage and I have unresolved mommy issues that I take out on random people to feel like I’m a big man,” Sleeper said in their most obnoxious southern drawl, going so far as to hook their thumbs into imaginary straps of overalls. “Also, I’m from Brooklyn but I talk like I was shit out of Deliverance!”  

“I don’t talk like that, and Deliverance was a great movie, you avocado-looking piece of shit!”

“Woah there, Ronald McDonald, if you grew a brain cell you might actually hurt my feelings.”

“Fuck you!” Carnage roared in Sleeper’s face.

“No, fuck you!” Sleeper roared right back.

The frog alien gave an enraged shriek and hoped to his feet. His wide mouth displayed rows of needle-sharp teeth, dripping with toxic, purple saliva as he charged.

Carnage caught the frog alien mid-lunge and lifted him above his head. One hand held the creature’s thick neck while the other gripped an ankle. The alien screamed in a language Sleeper didn’t understand and flailed his free limbs in a blind panic. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking to my brother!” Carnage shouted as he ripped the alien in half. Black sludge poured out of the two halves, splattering to the already bloodied floor. “Damn, that felt good!” he dropped the remains and cackled like the asshole he was.

“We are so going to die,” Sleeper muttered into their hands.

Sure enough, the klyntar drew their sidearms and fired simultaneously. Sleeper hooked an arm around Carnage’s waist and held him regrettably close as they sent out a few tendrils to bring the mechanic’s body in front of them as a meat shield. The force of the heat beams hitting the body pushed them back against A’Rrx’s desk.

“This is all your fault!” Sleeper yelled. They felt Carnage’s biomass writhe against their side, and the image of the other symbiote being absorbed made everything…just worse. There was no other way to describe it. It was all just worse, especially because every collision of heat beams against the mechanic’s desecrated corpse pushed them into the open cavity of his body. “Ugh, why didn’t you eat his waste sack?” Sleeper could barely see the actual shop anymore, and the smell of burning hair and skin tortured their scent pits. “It’s pressing against my hand and feels like cold spaghetti.”

“Have you tried calming down?” Carnage grunted out as he buried his hand in what Sleeper assumed were the mechanic’s breathing organs to push back against the onslaught.          

“We are practically inside my mechanic!” Sleeper shouted. “I just wanted to get my music player fixed after _you_ broke it, but I can’t even have that, because you can’t go fucking five minutes without killing someone!”  

“Yeah, and you knew that when you broke me out of Ravencroft, Sleeps,” Carnage said with a sneer.

“I hoped you would have at least some iota of self-control, Carny!” Sleeper spat.

“That nickname hurts you more than it hurts me!”

“I will cut myself a thousand times just to cut you once,” Sleeper hissed. They looked around desperately. The mechanic’s body wasn’t going to hold out against the klyntar’s weaponry for long. Their enemies were standing in the doorway that led to the ship, and an idea suddenly hit Sleeper. They had been planning to open the airlock on the ceiling to get rid of the bodies already, they'd just have to do it sooner. “Hold onto the body!” they said as they wrapped their arm back around Carnage’s shoulders. “And brace yourself!”

“What are you—?”

Sleeper manifested a tendril from their main body and snaked it behind A’Rrx’s desk to hit the button. The fluorescent lights flickered as the hydraulics hissed, sending clouds of acrid smelling fumes to fill the entire store.  

As soon as the heavy vault door dropped inwards, everything not bolted down was sucked out of the new opening and flung into the void. Sleeper wrapped a few extra tendrils around Carnage and hooked their claws over the edge of the desk.

They closed their eyes as A’Rrx’s papers buffeted their face to avoid seeing her body sucked away. They were still adamant that they hadn’t killed her like Carnage said, but her death was still awful.

“My knick-knacks!” Carnage cried.

Sleeper’s eyes shot open. “Are you for real?”

Carnage let out a growl and Sleeper turned their head to see him quite literally gripping the exposed part of the mechanic’s spine to keep it in front of them.

“Yes, they’re important to me!” Carnage created a nest of tendrils to catch the objects before they were lost to the vacuum. His feet left the floor and Sleeper wrapped a few more tendrils around his body.

“You are such a pain in the ass!” they snarled through gritted teeth. They felt his tendrils constrict around them, and ignored how disgusting it made them feel. It was surprisingly easy since they physically felt like they were about to ripped in half.

They couldn’t keep doing this forever. The metal of A’Rrx’s desk was starting to bend under the pressure of Sleeper’s grip.

“Don’t let me go!” Carnage shouted. Sleeper thought for sure they heard a twinge of fear in his voice, and something told them he had been left adrift in space before. Why anyone would bring him back was beyond them.  

“I won’t,” Sleeper said. “I promise, but I need you to do me a favor.” The artificial atmosphere was running out. Soon they weren’t going to be able to speak to each other. “Can you see the other klyntar?”

“No.”

“Then grab the door frame and take me with you,” Sleeper said just they fully realized the situation they had put themselves in. They were going to have to trust Carnage not to let them go and steal the ship, or worse, absorb them.

Sleeper cursed internally. It was too much to ask. Carnage was going to kill them, and they had no one to blame but themselves. Against their own judgement, Sleeper had started to subconsciously view Carnage as a partner, and they should have nipped it in the bud before a situation like this arose. Sleeper swore to themselves and to every kind of god they could think of that they would if they could just survive this horrible mistake.

Carnage sent out a wave on tendrils to the garage-like door and dug them into the frame. Sleeper pressed the other button behind A’Rrx’s desk that caused it to rise. Carnage started to pull them through by his tendrils and Sleeper was prepared to grab onto something when he let them go.

It never happened.

They fell through the doorway with the mechanic’s body and crashed together on the floor of the docking area. Sleeper quickly pushed a button on the control panel with a tendril and the door slid shut before any major damage was done. They laid there for a moment in disbelief that they were still alive and not struggling to hold onto something on the other side of the doorway. They turned their head to look at where Carnage was sprawled on his stomach underneath their impromptu shield’s body.   

“That sucked,” he grumbled. “Reminded me of a really bad time I had.”

“You’ll have to tell me later,” Sleeper said as more screaming rang out from the dock workers.

Shit. Of course they were going to be terrified seeing their dismembered boss, but between that and being sucked out into space, this was the preferable option. The aliens ran in panicked packs, knocking things over and tripping over themselves and each other. They certainly weren’t the combat type, or even the type who knew what to do when danger struck.

Sleeper got to their feet and made a beeline to the ship through the chaos. If any of those klyntar managed to get themselves situated, there wasn’t much time to escape. They heard the clack of Carnage’s claws behind them.

“Excuse me, sorry, watch yourself!” Sleeper said as they picked their way through the crowd.

The ship became visible and Sleeper felt a rush of relief. Their escape was so close. No one else had to die, there was no more fighting, and they would be closer to getting rid of Carnage for good.

They pressed the button on Tel-Kar’s belt and the side panel of the ship opened. They were going to be free. Nothing was going to stop them saving Venom. They needed to deliver Carnage to his death, and it didn’t matter how many people already died between. Venom was more important. Their sanity was more important.

Agonized screams rang out all at once. Crashing of metal and hissing of sparks filled the entire dock and echoed. From the corner of their eye they saw an impossible amount of red tendrils spreading like the circulatory system of a giant beast. Then with a whip of air, every single one retracted. 

Sleeper skidded to a stop just before the ship and they nearly fell to their knees at the too familiar sound of mass murder.

“Carnage,” they began. “If I turn around, how am I going to feel?”

“Uh,” Carnage said. “I honestly think you’d be impressed at my physical prowess.”

Was it really worth it to turn around? They already knew what they were going to see, and it was going to piss them off. Yelling at Carnage just seemed like a waste of time and energy at this point.

“Well, let’s not validate any positive feelings about this!” they said as they hurried onto the ship. They took their place on in the cockpit and hurriedly pressed the controls that brought the ship back to life. “Touch My Body,” immediately resumed, and Sleeper let out a frustrated screech. The mechanic must not have changed the song. Just as they were about to get the hell out of dodge, they heard the rip of duct tape.

“What are you doing?” Sleeper turned in their chair to see Carnage taping the mechanic’s corpse to the chair between the two remaining members of The Squad.

“I gotta make sure he doesn’t fall,” Carnage said.

“Why the hell did you bring a dead body on the ship!?” Sleeper shouted. “It’s going to stink up the whole place!”

“Hey, he saved our lives, show some respect,” Carnage said. “Xax is an alright guy.”

“Who?”  

Carnage’s resulting laughter was certainly not welcome given the circumstances.

Sleeper opted to ignore it and while they were at it, refused to look at the second massacre as they pulled out of the dock. Sleeper booted most of the ship’s central power core to the thrusters, and they rocketed out of the mechanic shop, the blowback sending smaller ships and equipment flying.

“Who were those guys?” Carnage asked.

“Agents of the Cosmos,” Sleeper answered as they used the ship’s tracking to dodge the smaller meteors and asteroids of the Gemna Belt. “They’re part of the true klyntar hivemind, and the fact that I’m piloting around a lobotomized kree and refuse to be ‘cleansed’ by our race, means that I’m up for execution.”

“Holy shit.” Carnage let out a snort of laughter. “You’re such an asshole even our own race hates you! That’s amazing!”

“Ha ha,” Sleeper mocked as they focused on the touch screen of the ships control panel. In space, there was no up or down, nor was there friction to slow the ship’s movement. Everything was mathematical, and Carnage’s very grating mocking was bound to get them blown up if Sleeper let him get to them. “You know if given the chance, they’d rip you apart and incinerate Red without question, right?”  

Carnage’s initial laughter cut off abruptly and his shit eating grin morphed into a snarl. “This is a skrull ship, right?”

“That’s what Tel-Kar stole to try and wipe out humanity, yes,” Sleeper said.

There was a beat of silence before Carnage immediately started smashing buttons. Sleeper was about to yell at him to stop, when his side of the control panel lit up, ready for use. Carnage pulled the throttle by the blue and green touch screen. The ship’s entire body rumbled and the lights within the cockpit dulled. The red emergency lights flickered on and Sleeper spared a quick horrified glance in Carnage’s direction.

 _"Combat systems engaged,"_ a smooth female voice said from the control panel.

“How do you even know how to use that?” Sleeper asked, not wanting to admit that they had no idea this ship could talk.

“Genetic memory,” Carnage replied. “Dad had some fun before Earth.”

_"Warning: Enemy fire approaching. Three kilometers."_

The screen on Sleeper’s panel displayed a red dot rapidly making its way towards the fixed purple dot symbolizing their ship.

Sleeper immediately pulled upwards on the yoke, and sent the ship spinning out of the way of the incoming yellow beam. Not long after, they were able to see the bladed silver outer bodies of klyntar vessels weaving in and out of sight through the asteroids.

Klyntar ships were unlike most. Their hulls weren’t smooth and they didn’t have windows, since a host-less klyntar relied more on scent and vibration for navigation. There wasn’t enough time to count them all, but Sleeper figured there had to be at least twelve with a crew of a few dozen inside—more if the symbiotes in question didn’t have hosts.

One of the ships burst forward with an eruption of energy from its thrusters, and the outer bladed ridges of its body rose like the spines of a porcupine. They were sharp enough to rip enemies in half, and Sleeper knew from their own genetic memory that puncturing other ships and forcibly infecting hosts was how a lot of the corrupt factions of klyntar functioned—the kind that _these_ klyntar lumped Sleeper in with.  

Well, not today. Sleeper maneuvered across the edge of an asteroid floating directly in their path, hoping that its ridges and fissures would break the path of the klyntar ship’s charge. It appeared to work. The enemy withdrew from their attack to hover a safe distance away, and Sleeper allowed themselves a second of relief.

They rounded a particularly large jagged shelf of rock, and saw another klyntar ship careening right for them. Sleeper barely had time to brace themselves for impact, when from under the nose of their ship, a purple plasma beam shot out and sliced through the enemy's shields and the silver outer body. The ship exploded in a mess of sparks and fire.

Sleeper dodged the debris and caught a quick glance at Carnage, who unsurprisingly seemed very pleased with himself.     

“Pay attention, Sleeps, there’s more incoming,” he said.

Sleeper was about snarl at that terrible nickname, but was thrown forward against their harness as the ship took a hit from one of the klyntar. A message popped on Sleeper’s screen reading that the shields were down to seventy-five percent. The radar picked up six more adversaries. “Get ready to fire.” Sleeper diverted more of the ship’s energy to the thrusters and pulled away from the asteroid.

Sure enough, as soon as they were out of the protective barriers of the asteroid’s uneven surface, a rain of whitish yellow shots rained down upon them. Sleeper twisted the yoke and used a few tendrils to press the buttons needed to maneuver the ship in an aileron roll, just barely twisting out of the way.

“Keep doing this rotation,” Carnage said, just as a barrage of purple plasma globs exploded from under the ship’s nose, sending them in every direction. Pieces of various klyntar ships slammed against the shields, clearing the way briefly. A few of Carnage’s shots hit some of the smaller asteroids, shattering them apart and sending rubble and dust spraying in every direction.

Sleeper skirted along the edge of another chunk of rock and swore when even more klyntar appeared on the radar. “Where do they keep coming from?”

“Hold on, I’m gonna shake ‘em.” Carnage pressed a few more buttons and the front of the ship vibrated slightly. He then reached up to the tangle of mechanics on the roof and pulled down what looked to be a periscope found on a submarine. Sleeper didn’t have any idea that the ship had that feature, meaning Tel-Kar had never taken time to learn about the very ship he stole other than how to drive it. Their brain-dead friend had come to Earth with the sole purpose of releasing the bioweapon he also stole to wipe out humanity.

Still, if Venom knew all this, it was beyond frustrating that Sleeper had no control of what they were able to pull from their genetic memory. Carnage seemed to have no trouble with taking what he wanted when he needed it, and it wasn’t fair. After all the pain and suffering he caused Venom, Carnage had no right to use his memory to his advantage.

Sleeper shook their head at how petulant they sounded even to themselves. Their control would come with time, and jealousy in the middle of a fight for their lives was not only stupid but served no purpose. Carnage was going to get what he actually deserved soon enough. Spider-Man, Kafka, and Venom himself had all failed in doing what needed to be done. Sleeper wasn’t on that committee. Carnage was going to die and stay dead this time.

“Fist ship is two kilometers off our stern,” Sleeper said. “Then there are two more at four kilometers behind the rubble of the asteroid coming up fast on our starboard. They’re trying to surround us.”

“That’s a bad idea for them,” Carnage said. His clawed hands gripped the throttles on either side of his chair, and pressed the glowing purple buttons on top. Another long, purple beam shot out from behind the ship and Sleeper realized that the vibration from earlier had been Carnage turning the plasma cannon that was apparently here this entire time (thanks Tel-Kar) so it faced behind them. There was a distant explosion of shrapnel and gas. The beam extended further into the blackness and two more explosions flashed and disappeared.

“Shit!” Sleeper growled when they checked the radar and found that more ships had come to replace the ones they had just destroyed.

“Man, these assholes really want you dead, huh?” Carnage said as he fired off the ship’s secondary weapons. “How the hell did you manage to evade them for so long when you didn’t use the combat system?”

“I’m about to show you,” Sleeper said. “For now, keep firing or they’re going to kill us both.”

“All this for not melding with the hivemind? I thought you’d be into that.”

“Yeah, no,” Sleeper said. “I like the privacy of my own mind, thanks. Besides, what knowledge they have, I want to discover on my own. And it’s pretty hard for them to get past the whole lobotomizing my host thing and bastardizing a bond that they view as sacred, so like, I’m going to pass on joining their club.”

“I don’t think your own race could be classified as a club, Sleeper,” Carnage said pointedly as he broke apart another asteroid to decrease visibility for their pursuers.

“Well, then toss Red to them and see what they do with her after the little stunt you pulled back at the mechanic shop,” Sleeper retorted.

“Fair point.”

The ship’s frame shook wildly as enemy fire rained down.

 _"Shields at fifty percent,"_  said the calm, robotic female voice.      

“We ain’t gonna last much longer,” Carnage said. “There’s too many of them. Looks like they planned to really take you in this time.”

“They aren’t getting me,” Sleeper said. They typed in the coordinates of the surrounding planetary system. The asteroid belt they were currently using for cover was between two ice planets. Sleeper scoured Tel-Kar’s brain for their options until an idiotic plan finally formed. The chances of them dying were pretty much fifty-fifty, but it was a worthy gamble. There were no inhabitable planets nearby to hide on, and if they kept on their current course, they were going to be blown to bits before they even saw Caabos.

This was the only way. They had to leave the Gemna belt and move towards the ice planet. After that, there was a gas giant around the size of Jupiter that they could use. Getting there was going to be the hard part. Between the ice planet and the gas giant, there was nothing but open space that was going to leave them completely vulnerable. They had to close the distance fast.

Sleeper pressed a few more buttons on the control panel and pulled back on the two levers on either side of their seat to increase their speed. The ship sped out of the asteroid belt and towards the planet. Sleeper could see the light reflecting off of it from a distance and braced themselves.

They twisted the ship out of the way of a few more ranged attacks and clenched their teeth so hard they were afraid they would crack. They had to use the gravitational pull of the ice planet to slingshot themselves straight into the gas giant. Now, whether the skrull were advanced enough to build a ship that could withstand this hairbrained scheme was up for debate, but they were going to find out.

The massive ice planet loomed ever closer as Sleeper pushed the ship’s engine onward. It was about three times the size of Earth, and pure white with deeper patches of blue. Clouds of methane and carbon monoxide swirled in massive clouds through its atmosphere, giving the impression that despite being uninhabitable, the planet itself was very much alive in its own way.

It was the kind of cosmic body Sleeper would have loved to simply watch while listening to music, but all that mattered to them currently was its gravitational pull. Sleeper maneuvered the ship into position until they it fell into the planet’s orbit.

“We’re going to use the planet’s gravitational pull to slingshot us to where we need to go,” Sleeper said. “I’m going to try and lose them, but between here and cover is just empty space.”

“So, if we’re not fast enough, you’re saying we’re sitting ducks,” Carnage said. “You sure the speed isn’t going to kill us?”

“That part, no,” Sleeper said. “If it was just Cletus Kasady and Tel-Kar, they would probably be very badly injured, but Red and I are able to keep you alive. It’s the next part I’m not sure we’re going to survive.”

Carnage pushed the periscope back up to the ceiling and grinned. “Now, we’re talking.”

The g force was immense as Sleeper sat back in their seat and wound themselves through every fiber of Tel-Kar’s being to keep him intact. The rounded edge of the ice planet was all they could see as they followed the planet’s orbit.

“Get ready,” Sleeper warned. “We’re almost around.” The ship’s radar lit up with enemy klyntar. As soon as they made it back around, Sleeper pushed the thrusters to their highest speed and the slingshot effect sent them careening into the empty space between the planets. The klyntar who caught onto the strategy weren’t far behind, but enough hadn’t, and they were no longer being assaulted from all sides.

Sleeper felt their biomass go flat against the seat as they held to Tel-Kar. It took what felt like hours until they reached the gas giant. Klyntar ships were still in pursuit and firing at them with increased ferocity as the enormous planet grew ever closer.

This was either brilliant or suicidal. In past run ins with the Agents of the Cosmos there hadn’t been nearly as many pursuers and Sleeper had been able to escape via their wits, but this time the enemy wasn’t playing around. Carnage being with them only made Sleeper a bigger and more dangerous target. However, Sleeper had no plans of letting their fellow race execute them. If they were going to die, then it was going to be by their own hand.

The ship moved onwards until they hit the planet’s atmosphere, the nose of the ship pointed straight at the planet’s constantly swirling blue surface. Sleeper managed to look at Carnage.

“If we die,” they began, “I want you to know something.”

“What?” Carnage managed through the pressure of the g force. His red biomass made it seem like he was melting into the seat.

“I genuinely think...that whoever designed the interior of Ravencroft deserves to be shot. There were so many things off-center. It looked like an asylum from the 60s. Like, not even retro, just like someone overloaded a rabid chimp’s brain with 60s aesthetic and set it loose on the property.”    

Carnage didn’t say anything for a long while as they broke through the first cloud barrier. Then came a soft, confused whisper of, _“What the actual fuck?”_

They descended deeper into the planet towards the core. The gravity was already so immense that Sleeper knew not even they and Red would be able to withstand it if the ship fell apart. The klyntar ships kept following. Sleeper pushed onwards.

“I see what you’re doing,” Carnage said as the red light of the cockpit flickered. “You’re playing chicken with them.”

“That’s a word for it. Either they pull out, or we’re about to be crushed by over a trillion tons of pressurized gas.”  

“Are you that scared of them?”

Sleeper’s eyes narrowed at the question. “They preach subservience to a worthy host, and I refuse to serve anyone no matter how ‘worthy’ they are.” They needed to escape the planet’s gravity, and the further they descended, the smaller that window got. If they went too far, there would be no chance of breaking free, and they would be crushed into molecules and dragged to the planet’s core. “I am not a hivemind,” Sleeper hissed. “My thoughts are my own. My mind is my own, and I will gladly be reduced to my basic atoms before I’ll be anyone’s _fucking slave!”_ They pushed the ship further.

“I understand.” Carnage’s voice carried an odd tone Sleeper was in no frame of mind to place.

They refused to suffer through what their Other Parent had: abuse, misunderstanding, rejection, betrayal.

Death was better than becoming like Red: insane, pathetic, subservient, obsessed.   

Only one klyntar ship remained in pursuit.

“Sleeper, you gotta pull up,” Carnage said. “There’s warning messages all over my screen.”

“There’s still one left,” Sleeper said.

No host was going to take their mind from them.

_"Warning: Intense gravity. Shields nearly depleted."_

“The weapons are offline,” Carnage said. “We ain’t gonna be able to get out at this rate.”

“Just a little more. They’re going to give up soon.”

“Sleeper!”

They were not a goddamn suit.

“A little more!”

“Holy shit, you’re actually insane.”

The klyntar ship veered up and disappeared into the surrounding gas.

Sleeper pulled up on the yoke and diverted all remaining power to the thrusters. The engine of the ship was giving all that it had. Sleeper wasn’t sure if they were even rising. There was so much blue gas and it all looked the same. Claustrophobia washed over them as they gripped the yoke so hard their hands shook. If they died now, at least Venom was aware of the threat heading towards Earth, and at least Carnage would go down with them.

Then there were stars.

Sleeper let out a breath of relief as the planet receded behind them. The ship’s radar confirmed there were no other klyntar. They were free.

“I don’t like space anymore,” Carnage groaned.

“Well, get used to it, because we’re not stopping anymore since apparently I can’t take you anywhere without casualties.” Sleeper adjusted the speed and kept an eye on the radar.

“We almost died, and you’re still mad about me killing people as if you didn’t know that’s kind of my unique brand of whimsy,” Carnage said.

“It was five minutes ago,” Sleeper said. “Give or take. Time sure flies in space battle.”

“You could have stopped me,” Carnage said. “You could have activated that poison you say is in my blood, but you couldn’t.” He leaned across the armrest of the copilot seat and gave a rancid grin. He clearly thought he had the upper hand in all of this. In his universe, Sleeper had given him too much information he had every intention of using to his advantage. “Because you love me.”

Little did he know that despite the mistake of putting their lives in Carnage’s hands back at the shop, Sleeper had no intention of making it twice. Carnage could have his illusion of power, for it served Sleeper just fine in blinding their brother to the truth, and they knew themselves to be the best liar alive.

“Yes, Carnage.” Sleeper turned their face slightly away to chart the course to Caabos. A seam split across their face in a malicious grin. “That’s exactly why.”   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 82
> 
> Sleeper Body Count Meter: 1
> 
> Thank you so much for getting this far! Let me know what you think, because I absolutely love discussion and talking about comic books.  
> Again, sorry this took so long, but that's partially because I was writing a Red/Cletus oneshot called Hell Hath No Fury! If you don't mind explicit, violent content, I would love to hear your thoughts on that one as well! 
> 
> If you wanna chat more, think I'm charming, or wanna be friends, come make friendship noises at me on tumblr@princess-of-peachtrees, and I'll give you my discord!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper attempts to navigate the vast city of Vu'Kreok while keeping Carnage from killing people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back on my bullshit again with more Shit Siblings! I'm so happy that you all are enjoying the adventure thus far! I can't thank you or express enough that all the comments and kudos and love push me to keep writing.  
> Thank you to everyone in the [Carnage Server](https://discordapp.com/invite/trXgCxh). If you're over 18, you should check it out. It's a good time and you can come talk to me!

Caabos floated before them, much like Earth, but not. The green continents sat upon vast blue oceans, while clouds swirled across the atmosphere. Sleeper felt a pang of longing for actual Earth, but quickly squashed it. They were on a mission, they reminded themselves, with their very violent and unstable brother. Getting homesick on top of that was not practical.

“Okay, so when we land, what are we not going to do?” Sleeper looked pointedly at Carnage, who was lazily browsing the pages of the lounging cockroach magazine.

“You know, at first I thought this was super fucked up, but now I’m kind of into it,” he said as he flipped another page.

“Carnage.”  

Carnage roughly slammed the magazine on his lap and let out a disgusted sigh. “What? What could you possibly want me to say?”   

“Answer the question.”

“You don’t want me to kill anyone,” Carnage said. “Does that mean I’m not going to? I’m gonna level with you, brother o’ mine, probably not.” He lifted the magazine again.

“Carnage.”

“God, can a man not read his creepy yet inexplicably sexy alien cockroach magazine in peace?”

Sleeper stared him down for a moment. “I know that you’ve been waiting for it, I’m waiting too.”

“Do not.”

“In my imagination I’ll be all up on you.”

“Stop, or it’s gonna get stuck in my head!”

“I know you’ve got that fever for me hundred and two.”

“Fine!” Carnage yelled. “Seriously, I wish we grew up together just so I could have killed all your pets.” He tossed the magazine in Sleeper’s face, the contents of which Sleeper decided to block out as they hissed in warning.

“Trust me, there’s probably going to be plenty of people to kill on this shithole of a planet,” Sleeper said. “But you can’t just kill every person on the street. We have to have a plan, which I will come up with, and you can just do what you do, alright?”

“Whatever you say, Genghis Khan,” Carnage said. “As long as I get to sleep at some point. I’m exhausted.”

This gave Sleeper some pause as they slowly entered the planet’s atmosphere. “Wait, you have to sleep?”

“Cletus Kasady does,” Carnage said. “And that’s half of who I am, so yeah.”

“Okay, that’ll give me some time to think,” Sleeper said. “There’s a big fish swimming in this particular pond that has the thing we need to stop the planet-eater.”  

“And that thing is?” Carnage asked. So much for not giving a shit.

“Well, now that you’ve decided to care, it’s a bomb,” Sleeper said. “A really big, nasty bomb, and the guy who made it is someone Tel-Kar knew very well.”

“So, this guy’s another kree?” Carnage asked.

“Yes, and his name is Te-Vash,” Sleeper said. “Tel-Kar has a lot of personal memories surrounding him. Honestly, if Tel-Kar hadn’t literally been garbage, it’s kind of sweet." 

“What were they gay for each other or something?” Carnage asked, picking up the magazine from the floor to add it back to his pile of worthless garbage from the mechanic shop.

“I don’t think so?” Sleeper shrugged. “It’s pretty vague, but the dude’s a total sociopath from what I can tell, and Tel-Kar probably liked that about him. More on the science side of Hala than the warrior part. He made a lot of the weapons that decimated any race that refused to submit to kree rule, including the skrull.”

“Sounds like my kind of guy,” Carnage said. “I bet he’ll be real fun to kill.”

“You can once we get the information we need out of him,” Sleeper said. “Getting to him is going to be an ordeal though. He’s very well-connected and very wealthy: two things that make you untouchable on Caabos as a whole, not just Vu’Kreok.”

“So, you wanna go to this shitty planet, wander around a shitty city, fuck with this powerful dude, and get this bomb that he has, and that’s why you needed me?”

“Pretty much.”

“Sounds straightforward enough to me,” Carnage said.

“For the most part,” Sleeper said. “Like I said, getting to him is going to be hard enough. Stealing his pet project is going to be even harder.”      

“Well, nothing worth doing is easy,” Carnage said.

He had a point, as much as Sleeper loathed to admit it. Protecting Venom had not been an easy or noble path in the slightest when they brought Carnage into the picture. Secret murder plots aside, Carnage’s instability was vastly wearing them out. Not to mention he killed Sleeper’s skilled mechanic and all of his staff, and then further encouraged the Agents of the Cosmos to come after them since, in their eyes, Sleeper graduated from stealing bank information to outright murder.

Once they were will within the atmosphere, Sleeper activated the ship’s communication system and typed in the number of their usual space ship dock. The screen on their console lit up to reveal the face of a grey, incredibly muscular alien with a face that looked like it had been victim to a miniature meteor shower.

 _“Sherax’s Stolen Ship Bay, if you stole a ship you don’t want galactic authorities finding, you can dock it here,”_ the alien said through protruding tusks. Her voice was deep and raspy.

“Sherax, did you do something with your five eyes? Because they are absolutely popping today,” Sleeper said.

 _“Sleeper, you ball of charm.”_ She blinked her eyes separately. _“You sure know how to charm a girl despite being a parasite.”_ Her voice remained monotone.

“That’s a lady?” Carnage asked.

“Shh,” Sleeper hissed and then focused back on Sherax. “I need to dock a stolen skrull ship. Do I have authorization?”

 _“One moment while I search our database for your information.”_ Sherax reached out of frame to drag in a crying scrawny alien with a swollen face. Several teeth were missing from his bloodied mouth as he shivered helplessly in Sherax’s huge fist.

 _“P-Please…I just want to see my wife again,”_ he whimpered.

 _“Data on the customer.”_ Sherax backhanded him across the face.

“What the fuck are we watching?” Carnage asked, although he was clearly enjoying the show as Sherax continued to abuse her ‘database’.

“It’s customs,” Sleeper said. “It’s always a hassle.”  

 _“The s-skrull sh-ship is authorized,”_ the alien stuttered out through choked sobs. _“The rogue klyntar S-Sleeper is a-a repeat customer and is trustworthy. L-Last date parked was three months ago. Dock A-31 available.”_

Sherax growled as she gripped the smaller alien’s head in her fist and proceeded to toss him behind her like a ragdoll. _“You are authorized. Dock A-31 is yours.”_     

“We’ll arrive in an estimated time of fifteen minutes,” Sleeper said and then turned off the comm system.

“Wow, so this is the kind of town we’re dealing with,” Carnage said. “I gotta say, strict but fair is something I’ve always admired in a boss.”  

“The guy used to handle the logistics for slave traffickers,” Sleeper said. “He doesn’t even have a wife, so I have to agree with you on the fair part.”

“So I take it she won’t mind your extra passengers?” Carnage asked, gesturing to the back where The Squad and Whatever-His-Name-Was sat.

“Never has before,” Sleeper said. “Which is good, because I don’t have the heart to throw them out in space or bury them. This was their ship first.”

Carnage’s mouth opened slightly in a grimace and Sleeper let out a huff.

“I just watched you try to nut to bug porn for the past hour. You have no room to judge.”

The ship made it down through the atmosphere without burning up or exploding, and Sleeper considered that a win by a fair margin. On the ship’s charted course, and once they cleared the cloud cover, the sprawling metropolis of Vu’Kreok sparkled beneath them like a glittery turd. Located within the planet’s sprawling Endar Jungle, the city itself was woven neatly within the impossibly huge tropical trees dotted with multicolored floating lights. Signs reading: “ _Girls! Girls! Girls!”_ and “ _Boys! Boys! Boys!”_ and “ _?!?!?!”_ shone above beautifully crafted buildings.  

Strategically planted bioluminescent foliage worked with artificial lights to give the jungle metropolis a thousand eyes to watch incoming patrons. The massive Vinduth River flowed next to it, providing a home for floating party barges and casinos.

Sleeper fell into the normal air traffic above the shimmering landscape. They passed a floating billboard of a conventionally gorgeous alien showgirl. Her hair was as white as starlight. It billowed around her shoulders and down to her hips from beneath a massive feather headdress studded with jewels. Her large, almond shaped eyes were fringed with thick lashes and accentuated by the natural darker markings on her purple skin.

_Vu’Kreok and Stella Supernova welcome you!_

_(Please gamble responsibly if you value your kneecaps. If you don't have kneecaps, there's always something else to break!)_

“You weren’t kidding,” Carnage said. “This place is a lot like Vegas if Vegas was in the Amazon.”

“Don’t let the pretty lights and trees fool you. It’s about as seedy as Vegas too, if not more so,” Sleeper said as the passed over a massive square where a wild party blasted music so loud Sleeper could hear it through the metal of the ship.

“This is definitely my kind of place.” A few ribbons of drool extended from the tips of Carnage’s fangs as he pressed his face to the window to stare down at the partygoers. “Plenty of prey.”

Sleeper gave him a side eye. “I’m gonna treat you like a teddy bear, you won’t wanna go nowhere.”

“Fine! Okay, jeeze. You’re such an asshole.”

Carnage started longingly down at the hapless pedestrians for the rest of the trip the same way an indoor cat watched birds outside.

Sherax’s Stolen Ship Bay was situated on the top of an impossibly massive tangle of trees. Nowhere on earth would there have been such a sight. It was as if a couple miles of jungle had woven itself together to create a platform and a hull for space ships. If this were earth, using such heavy vegetation near rockets was a bad idea to say the least, but the trees of the Endar Jungle, particularly those used in the architecture of Vu’Kreok, had been cybernetically modified to be inflammable.

As Sleeper pulled into Dock A-13, they could see the bluish glow of tiny circuits pulsing through the leaves and vines. The massive, hollowed trunks that made up the building had the same circuits running through the organic material around it.

With the ship landed safely and upon Sleeper and Carnage exiting, they were greeted by the inside of a cavernous building that did not look like it was made from the jungle on the outside. The Stolen Ship Bay was massive, and hundreds of identical stocky, green aliens scuttled around doing maintenance work and taking payments from customers. Their eyes were large and sad, and reminded Sleeper of the Precious Moments dolls the crazy Catholic lady who lived across from their parents collected.   

“What are these things?” Carnage asked as one of the aliens scuttled by and handed him a complimentary beverage. Sleeper downed theirs in one gulp upon receiving it, and extended their tongue to rid themselves of the Vinduth River’s fishy aftertaste.

“Grunts,” they answered. “They don’t know how to function without someone or something bossing them around.”  

Several thuds and vibrations alerted Sleeper to Sherax herself making her way through the hordes of grunts and customers.

“Good to see you again, Sleeper,” she said in a monotone voice as she tapped on her tablet. Her ‘database’ stood next to her shivering. His single eye was filled with tears and a neck brace was fitted under his chin. She handed the tablet over to him and crossed her arms.  

“Good to see you, too,” Sleeper said. “This is my brother, Carnage.”

Sherax looked up from what she was doing briefly to nod in acknowledgement. “I wasn’t aware klyntar had close families.”

“We’re not close,” Sleeper said.

“Because he’s an asshole,” Carnage said.

“More like because you kill people,” Sleeper retorted.

“Alright ladies, if you’re gonna fight, take it outside. Last time I let two brothers duke it out, we lost Grunt Number 87.” Sherax jerked her head towards the opposite wall where a giant portrait of one of the grunts hung. Exotic plants and notes and were piled underneath it, while a group of ten other grunts wept around the shrine. “It’s been three years and they still cry underneath that damn thing. I don’t even know where they got it.”

“We won’t cause you any trouble,” Sleeper said and then shot Carnage a warning glare. “Will we?”

“Put a dick in one of your cheek thingies,” Carnage said, crossing his arms.

“They are my scent pits, you Raggedy Andy reject!”

“Alright, you wanna use your unlimited membership?” Sherax asked, nudging the alien next to her with an elephant-like foot.

“Of course,” Sleeper said, reigning in their irritation to recover their professionalism. “Charge it to the card on file.”

“All set then,” Sherax said.

“Great now we’ll—”

“So, like, is this place actually called Sherax’s Stolen Space Ship Bay?” Carnage asked. “That seems kind of in your face. How have you not gotten shut down?”

Sleeper had never thought about it, but now that Carnage had brought it up, they couldn’t help but be curious about the answer. Ordinarily, it was better not to ask questions on Caabos, but when you had the illegal nature of your business in its name there had to be something pretty massive backing you.

“Simple,” Sherax said. “I can do this.”

Her jaw fell open and the lights in the building flickered. Yet, before Sleeper saw the final product, Carnage’s hand covered their eyes. They almost smacked it away, but the unholy moans that echoed across the dock, along with what sounded like a thousand wriggling worms slapping together, made them reconsider, and they slowly lowered their hand.

The sound cut off, and Sleeper's vision cleared. All that stood there was Sherax and her ‘database’ who looked as if he had gone into some sort of psychosis. None of the grunts seemed affected, and were tending to the customers who had just bared witness to whatever the fuck Sherax just did.

“Thank you for answering my question, ma’am,” Carnage said, his voice utterly monotone. “Sleeper, I am ready to go to wherever it is we are going.”           

“You okay?” Sleeper asked.

“No.”

“Thank you again, Sherax,” Sleeper said, placing their hands on Carnage’s shoulders and directing him towards the exit.

“Anytime, Sleeper.” Sherax flicked her ‘database’ on the back of his head, causing him to yelp and nearly fall flat on his face. “And remember boys, don’t ask too many questions in Vu’Kreok. Just enjoy the party.”

They followed the herd of aliens towards one of the massive elevators that led to the walkway that would take them to the turbine station. From there, the floating train would take them to their hotel. Sleeper hoped to accomplish this within an hour, max. The chittering and jabbering of the other customers was starting to make Carnage irate, and Sleeper kept a close eye on him in case he decided he wanted to go on yet another killing spree.

Thankfully the elevator was spacious enough that Sleeper was able to subtly herd Carnage into the back corner, while secreting a pheromone that made the other aliens give them as wide a berth as possible.

“Why did you cover my eyes?” Sleeper asked as the elevator descended.

“I thought we were about to see something really cool, and I didn’t want to share the experience because I hate you,” Carnage answered.

Sleeper couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah? How did that work out for you?”

“I wish I had the foresight to rip off your head and shit down your neck hole instead,” he responded. “Then it would have been worth the emotional trauma.”

“Well, thanks for protecting me, anyway,” Sleeper said as the elevator dinged open and the occupants moved out. “I’ll have to get you back.”

The lower lobby of the ship bay was far more natural than the upper floors dedicated to the ships. Leaves and flowers grew along the walls while bioluminescent fungi lit a path to the glass exits. The tiny inscriptions of circuits ran through every surface, giving everything a flashy, multi-colored glow that matched Vu’Kreok’s party atmosphere.

“Shit, all these lights make me feel like I’m on acid,” Carnage remarked as they headed towards the front.

“That’s the point,” Sleeper said. “Every day’s a party here. At least, it is for people who can afford it. Otherwise, you have to deal with the dirty underbelly.”

“Heh, well I don’t mind getting dirty,” Carnage said.

“Ew.”

Carnage gave Sleeper a look that said he didn’t appreciate the joke. Sleeper, not caring about their brother’s opinion in the slightest, continued to believe that they had graced Carnage with the epitome of hilarity.

“Hold on.” Sleeper held out an arm just as they exited the metal structure jutting out of the trees that served as Sherax’s foyer.

“What?” Carnage snapped.

“Be careful.”

“Of what?”

Sleeper’s lips parted in the smallest of grins, and Carnage’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Stairs.” They pointed to the ones in front of them that led to the walkway below. “Remember, CPS sites them as the number one cause of battered children.”

Carnage squinted, as if searching for the joke, until a reluctant smile forced its way across his face.

“And he sees the light!” Sleeper exclaimed in teasing elation. “Now, Carny, be extra careful because you’re the biggest child I know, so _you_ are a prime target.”   

“Eat shit and die,” Carnage said, although his tone betrayed that he was doing his damnedest not to laugh.

     

*******

 

Trying to keep Carnage from killing everyone in an overcrowded city was the equivalent of building a wall of sand to stop an ocean tide. The lights and constant action were exacerbating the prey drive, and Sleeper made sure that their brother was constantly visible in their peripheral. All it took was a second of distraction for Carnage to start killing people, and Sleeper was not about to be run off the planet before they got what they came for.

More billboards of Stella Supernova sponsoring various products and restaurants speckled the towering trees. Sleeper figured she was Vu’Kreok’s mascot. It made sense. She was remarkably beautiful even by Earth standards.

“Hey, boys!” several scantily clad aliens called. They flounced around in front of a building formed from a tree blooming with bright pink flowers. The sign read, “The Wet Clurgis” and Sleeper was very not interested in interpreting that innuendo. “We _love_ klyntar, here! We won’t even charge you the threesome fee!”

“Don’t make eye contact,” Sleeper directed as they went deeper into the crowd.

“Why not?" Carnage cast a mildly longing glance back at the giggling sex workers, who waved back at him. "They’re not charging the threesome fee. Sounds like a good deal to me.”

“Please stop being disgusting,” Sleeper said.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with sex work, Sleeper,” Carnage said. “It’s the oldest profession, you know. Show some respect.”

“Look, I get the only sex you’ve had is the kind you paid for, but we don’t have time,” Sleeper said.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve had plenty of relationships,” Carnage said. “And my last girlfriend was super-hot and levitated.”

“I really don’t want to hear about the poor women who made the mistake of letting you crawl on top of them,” Sleeper muttered.

“We even adopted three adult men as our children.”

“That sure is a thing you just said.”

“I mean, I did get carried away with the discipline,” Carnage said, waving a hand. “But that’s what being a father is all about.”

“It’s really not,” Sleeper said. “Your life is just sad.”

“So there,” Carnage said. “My point is proven.”

“You got me.” Sleeper really wasn’t in the mood to argue the merits of fatherhood, or whether or not someone was dumb enough to let Cletus Kasady flop around on top of them for free. “Feel better?” Sometimes, winning a battle was not conducive to winning the war.  

“Absolutely.”  

Magnificent birds with colorful feathers flew across the canopy and landed in flocks on the various shops. Their song melded with the rumbling crowd. Aliens of all shapes and sizes made up the patrons of Vu’Kreok’s shopping district, from the more humanoid to misshapen creatures that were incomparable to anything found on Earth.

Food vendors lined the street, wafting different aromas through the crowd. They, too, varied in variety from sweet to spicy, and to downright pungent if it were a human smelling them. The trees that wove through the artificial structures of the city were blossoming with flowers and brightly colored fruit. The star Caabos orbited was high in the sky, and the humid, tropical air made Sleeper’s biomass feel fresh and clean.

“Psst!”

Sleeper stopped. Carnage ran into them from behind and Sleeper turned to see him attempting to stealthily stuff his face with a small creature. Before Sleeper could even attempt to pry his jaws open to save whatever it was, the last tiny tentacle disappeared down his gullet.

“What was that?” Sleeper asked warily. Fuck, the noise made them lose focus.

“Just something I stole from one of the stands,” Carnage said. He then promptly belched up a small, plastic object. It hit Sleeper between the eyes and clattered to the ground. Okay, so this was probably about to get really stupid, and they had only been walking for a little over an hour. Sleeper tilted their head back to pray for strength, and then discovered that the small piece of plastic was actually a type of pacifier popular among intelligent life from this planetary system.

The glare they gave Carnage was powerful enough to melt steel.

“What?” Carnage asked as if he were being nagged about doing something perfectly reasonable. “Parental supervision is a thing, you know.”

An alarmed scream of, _“Where’s my baby!?"_ rose from somewhere in the crowd behind them.

“Hey, over here!” the voice belonged to a tiny alien standing in an alley between two shops.

The energy of the crowd started to shift into something more panicked as the parent of Carnage’s impromptu snack continued to raise the alarm.

Sleeper grabbed Carnage and pulled him towards the alley. This was bound to be something stupid, but it was better than getting arrested. The alien’s three eyes widened in delight, and he waved them deeper into the alley with a three-fingered hand.

He made a few turns, getting them further away from the crowded main street, until the murmur of the hustle and bustle faded into subtler city sounds, like the screeching of native jungle birds, and the dull thrum of the bioengineered plants.     

“Sorry to pull you away, but I saw you and had to chat you two up,” the alien said. He was tiny, only coming up to their knees, with stubby arms and legs and a body that was like a worm. Three beady eyes blinked up at them with a hunger that made Sleeper immediately want to stick his head on a curb and stomp it.

“What do you want?” Sleeper asked.

The small alien’s eyes honed in on Carnage and he smiled in a way Father would have compared to a slimy lawyer. “That’s a beautiful klyntar you have there,” he said. “Such a vibrant color. How did you manage to make it red?”

“Uh, thanks,” Carnage said. “And the answer is blood.”

This guy was a trafficker. Sleeper let out a low growl and extended their claws. Carnage blinked in surprise and almost seemed concerned.  

“Woah, woah, I come in peace,” the alien soothed. “You seem more reasonable,” he said to Carnage. “Tell your friend to relax. I’m just giving compliments. Not sure what race you two actually are under there, but compliments are universal for the most part.”

“Uh, they’re nice where we’re from, I guess,” Carnage said, his voice rising in suspicion.  

“Fascinating, fascinating.” The alien padded around Carnage with two long fingers clutching his chin in thought. “I’ve never seen a red one before. We could spawn more like it and make them limited edition.”

“Can I help you, pal?” For now, Carnage was confused, but Sleeper knew that it was about to get bad. There was still time to lead him away, or to use their pheromones to convince them both to stop talking to each other. A life could still be saved. Yet, Sleeper couldn’t bring themselves to do it.  

The problem was that lives like these were worthless. If someone wanted to buy another living being then they would reap what they sowed.

“I’ll give you 100,000 credits for it,” the alien said.

“Fucking excuse you?” Carnage took a step back. “She’s not for sale.”

“She?” the alien questioned, seemingly confused, before a smug smile crossed his lips. “I see, you’re one of _those_ people.” He twiddled his fingers together like an insect cleaning itself. It made it all the easier for Sleeper to watch this play out. People died in Vu’Kreok's gutters all the time. One more meant nothing.

“ _Those people?_ What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Carnage asked.

“I’ll give you 200,000 credits for it,” the alien said.

Carnage stared down at him with an eerily blank expression, almost as if his brain short circuited at the idea of someone having the fucking nerve to ask him something like this.

“That’s as high as I’ll go,” the alien said holding out a tiny hand. “Do we have a deal? I even got a jar on me to take it off your hands.”

Carnage moved so fast, he was practically a blur as he gripped the alien’s face. “We sure as fuck ain’t got a deal!” He lifted him off the ground and slammed him against the building. Only two of the alien’s three eyes were visible between Carnage’s fingers, and his stubby legs kicked wildly in the air. “She belongs to me!” Carnage hissed in the alien’s face. “We are the same person. Where there is one, there is the other. Together, we’re Carnage, and no part of me is for sale you nematode-looking shit stain!”

“…Can I interest you in 300,000 credits, then?”

Carnage closed his fist and crushed the alien’s head to pulp, brain matter and bone chips squirting out from between his claws like the world’s most fucked up sprinkler. Carnage shook his hand free of gore and rounded on Sleeper. “You got something to say, fucker?”

“About what?” Sleeper asked innocently.

Carnage opened his mouth and then paused. He glanced at the alien’s crumpled corpse and then back at Sleeper.

“I didn’t see you do anything worth getting upset over,” Sleeper said with a shrug. “Now, come on, we have a train to catch.”

 

*******

 

They managed to catch the train without any other casualties. Apparently eating a child and killing some goon in an alley was enough to sate Carnage long enough for them to board the floating train. The inside of it was plush and littered with advertisements, many of them showcasing Stella Supernova in various states of undress, among the ‘Please gamble responsibly’ public service announcements and the city’s slogan of _“Don’t ask questions, just enjoy the party!”_

They took their seats near the back of the car and Sleeper felt a rush of relief as the intercom announced that they were leaving the station. Large windows gave access to a larger view of Vu’Kreok, and Sleeper had to turn their face away from the neon signs. The vast fountains were pretty cool, though.

“How are you doing?” Sleeper asked.

“I’m fine,” Carnage said, his voice oddly strained. Sleeper looked around the car for the source of Carnage’s distress and was immediately overtaken by the stupidity.

There was an unattended child attempting to stick a metal eating utensil into one of the complimentary plugs. A group of male aliens were goading their friend to snort the crushed petals of a flower they got from the terminal. Sleeper remembered that the garden they snatched it from had a sign warning that the flowers in question were poisonous. Another alien was gripping the overhead luggage shelves while his friend punched him repeatedly in the stomach. Drugs were definitely involved there.

“They’re asking to die,” Carnage whispered. “I…want to help them.” His talons creaked against the upholstery of their seat.  

“Hey, hey, let’s not do that,” Sleeper warned. “Just…look out the window.” They pointed to the sprawling view. “There’s pretty lights out there. When it gets dark, I bet it’ll be even prettier.”

The alien being punched in the stomach finally hunched over and vomited.

“I can’t do this,” Carnage said. “Sleeper, I’m trying, but look at them!”

The alien being goaded into snorting the poisonous flower finally gave into peer pressure and immediately started seizing. His friends all let out excited cheers.

“I know,” Sleeper said. “I know, but hey, look at me.”

Carnage surprisingly obeyed, and the pained look on his face was enough to tell Sleeper that he was legitimately suffering from some sort of withdrawal.

“Let’s talk. Does killing people make you happy?” they asked, hoping to distract him from the various employees tending to both the vomit and the seizing alien.  

“Happy? Sleeper, happiness isn’t a real thing. It’s an unobtainable concept shrinks like to wave over your head so you’ll cooperate.” His distress immediately vanished to take on a snottier I-Know-Better-Than-You tone of voice. As annoying as it was, it was better than having him go apeshit on a bunch of hungover partiers.

“So…is that a no?”

“It’s not that it makes me happy. It’s not that simple. It’s more like, when I’m not killing, I don’t feel anything at all. My body and my brain feel untethered.”

“Kind of like in cartoons when the character dies and their soul floats out?” Sleeper asked.

“Exactly! Only, I don’t go anywhere. I’m just…detached—to the point where almost everybody I meet even kind of looks the same. I can’t form personal attachments to people. Never could really.”

“I guess that’s the sociopathy talking,” Sleeper remarked.  

“But when I’m looking into someone’s eyes as the life leaves them, now that is more beautiful than any sunrise. When my claws pierce their fleshy vessels and I can feel, hear, and smell their blood, suddenly, I’m in the moment. I’m one with my body, and I can feel everything: excitement, rage, and hell, maybe even happiness. It’s the biggest fucking rush! All these sensations just come over me. But when the killing’s done, that feeling fades, and I’m back to being numb. So, I keep doing it. Like I told you before, killing is what makes me feel like I’m truly alive.”

“Uh, have you tried drugs?”

“Do you really want to deal with me on cocaine?” Carnage asked flatly.

“Touché.”

“I know thousands of ways to kill someone, and every opportunity I get, I act them out and love every single one. And Red, well, Red and Cletus Kasady feed it to each other. I am both of them combined and everything they crave.” Carnage let out a sigh and sat back in his seat. “My point is, happiness isn’t real. No one gets to be happy, just like no one is actually a good person.”

“What about Billy?”

“What do you mean, what about Billy?” Carnage clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Billy sucks.”

“He was kind to you,” Sleeper said. “Arguably, when you needed it most.”

Carnage chuckled bitterly. “He turned out to be like everyone else: slave to a shitty addiction that destroyed the people around him. We all got ‘em, Sleeps, because we all know deep inside that the universe doesn’t give two dicks and a flaming cooch about anyone.”

“Why couldn’t you kill him, then?”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you just kill Billy? You had the opportunity before Spider-Man came. Why bother talking to him at all? In fact, why did you tell Red not to help you? Just because he asked you? You’re not the type of serial killer to take requests. Like you said, Spider-Man was right there, and without Red, Cletus Kasady doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I don’t know, I guess because even though he was a wimp and a coward, part of me still missed having a friend.” He said it as if he didn’t actually believe that was the answer, just a reason he pulled out of his ass, and it made Sleeper curious to the truth. Carnage pressed on, however, “But see, even though Billy was nice to me for one summer out of a billion, I’m still a serial killer.”

“So, your point is?” Sleeper asked.

“My point, asshole, is that it didn't matter. Whether Billy was there or not, I'm still what I am now. You might get your Happily Ever After moment if you're lucky or rich, but that's all it is.” His eyes rested on the seizing alien now being taken away. "Just a random moment that just happens to suck less than all the others."  

“That’s a pretty depressing way to look at things,” Sleeper said.  

“That’s what life is,” Carnage said with a grin. “So, to answer your question, yes, killing makes me happy, or at least as close to it as anyone can get. Happiness as whole is just a societal manipulation tactic that promises that if you follow the rules you’ll magically be completely fulfilled and you’ll never feel pain again, aka True Happiness. Can you honestly say you’ll be happy forever once you stop this monster?”

Sleeper thought about it for a moment, but only for a moment. Thinking of Venom dying was enough to make them sick. “I don’t know about forever, but it’ll bring me peace knowing Venom is safe.”

“Yeah, but Dad is Dad and he’ll be in danger again. What will you do then, drop everything to save him?”

“Of course,” Sleeper said without hesitation.

“Why? That’s stupid,” Carnage said.

“Because he’s my father and I love him.”   

“What if it keeps happening?”

“Then I’ll save him as many times as it takes,” Sleeper said simply. “That’s what you do for family.”

“Pfft, well when you die and go to Hell—because you definitely will—ask the devil for Roscoe Kasady and let him know. He clearly missed the memo.” Carnage sat back and picked at the seat, the small tendrils that danced around his shoulders rigid with agitation.

“You know,” Sleeper began, “even though you had it bad, that doesn’t give you the right to take it out on other people just because they didn’t. And frankly, you feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to make me do the same. Grow up.”  

“Well, golly fucking gee, why didn’t I think of that?” Carnage snarled. “Man, had I known it was that easy, I’d have stopped killing people years ago!”

“Okay, now you’re being a baby.”

“And you’re being insensitive to my suffering.” Carnage crossed his arms and slumped back against the plush of the seat. “No one ever gave me a break. Ever.”

But they had, many times, given Carnage a break. Spider-Man and Kafka both wasted precious years of their lives empathizing and trying to save him based off the false hope that there was still a suffering man trapped within the darkness. Now, Sleeper was the one that had to bare the memories of Carnage’s crimes, and they were the ones who had to take care of him for good.

Carnage’s underhanded tactic of getting people to sympathize with him wasn’t going to work. Sleeper could never feel sympathy for someone who actively chose to hurt people, and then hide behind their abusive daddy when Red wasn’t around to protect him. Fuck that noise entirely.

“Thought you were supposed to love me,” Carnage muttered.

“If you think love is agreeing with every bad choice someone makes, you have a pretty warped perception about what that word means,” Sleeper said.

“You know, you’re really starting to piss me off.” Carnage flashed his teeth in warning. “I suggest you watch your mouth if you want these people to live.”

“Wow, taking a train hostage, huh? Thought you were more creative.”

“I can’t decide whether I’m charmed by your absolute heartlessness,” Carnage leaned threateningly into Sleeper’s space and hissed out lowly, “or if it seriously clashes with mine.”

“I’m only heartless when it comes to your excuses as to why you’re a sack of shit,” Sleeper said, refusing to lean away from Carnage. They were not going to be cowed into submission by this asshole. They held his stare, lifting their lip to remind Carnage that they also had teeth they were more than willing to use.

The staring contest only ended because of the loud warbling call that sounded a lot like, “Wurpa, wurpa!”    

A smoothly scaled alien that resembled a squid moved down the aisle of the train, pushing a hover trolley piled with food and what Sleeper assumed to also be food. Plump, feathery creatures with giant eyes, still alive in their cages, were being sold as the main course. The feather-balls glanced innocently around their surroundings, unaware of their fate. Sleeper’s scent pits picked up on the warmth of their bodies and felt their biomass involuntarily split to form their mouth. They needed to take better care of themselves, and they were awfully hungry.  

Sleeper stopped the alien and bought two of the feather-ball creatures. They then took one out of the cage by what they assumed was the scruff of its nonexistent neck and took in its scent. It blinked innocently as Sleeper unhinged their jaw and bit it in half. Its tiny back legs twitched a few times and Sleeper made sure all blood landed in the courtesy tray provided at the bottom of the cage.

Carnage’s eyes never wavered from the scene. At first, Sleeper had half a mind to tell him to eat out of the garbage of the hotel once they got there, but when they saw the drool start to leak from between his teeth, they figured being nice was better than dealing with another impromptu mass killing.

“Here,” Sleeper said through their mouthful as they held out the other cage to Carnage. “Truce?”  

Carnage took the cage and stared at the plump creature within. It blinked back and ruffled its feathers, completely unperturbed by the death of its brethren. “I guess.” He still sounded put out, but he reached in and gripped the creature with his talons. He then promptly ripped its head off. “Not bad,” Carnage said, over the crunch of bones. He tossed the rest of the creature’s body into his maw.

***

They miraculously made it to their hotel for the day. Anything worth doing in Vu’Kreok was worth doing at night. Upon entering their room, Carnage immediately faceplanted onto one of the beds and let out a groan.

“Fucking tired,” he grumbled. “I can go two days without sleep and three without food, but damn all this traveling has me beat.”

“Then sleep,” Sleeper said. “Now’s your chance.”

Carnage gave Sleeper a thumbs up without lifting his head, and upon dropping the hand, immediately started snoring. Red receded from his sleeping form until there was only Kasady unconscious. She twisted her tendrils together to form a face and draped the rest of herself over his body to give him some modesty.

Sleeper only spared her a glance before checking out their small room. There was a screen in the wall that served as a television, something that made them think of their symbiote parent with a twinge of guilt. They should try and contact them later to try and smooth things over, and to give them proof of the monster heading their way. It was important that Venom had a chance to survive. Sleeper looked over at Kasady, who had rolled over on his side.

 _Even if I fail,_ they thought. It was a very real possibility they hadn’t considered, but predicting Carnage was impossible. Sleeper had taken their eyes off of him for one second and he’d eaten someone’s baby. One disagreement could result in a fight or a failed guilt trip, and it was impossible to tell which way he’d react. It had been less than a week, and Sleeper already felt drained.    

“You seem stressed,” Red said. She kept herself protectively coiled around Kasady’s sleeping form. The main stalk of tendrils that twisted together to form her face hovered above his rib cage. Kasady stirred with a small snore, and Red wrapped a few small strands of biomass around his fingers. It seemed to calm him, and he let out a sigh as he fell still again.  Her stare never wavered from where Sleeper sat on the other bed.

“I’m trying to think of a plan,” Sleeper said. “Te-Vash has a hand in every pot, especially on this planet. It’s going to take a lot for us to get to him.”

Red didn’t respond, only stared, and it made Sleeper’s biomass twitch. As horrible as Kasady was, Sleeper was finding his company and influence on Carnage far easier to deal with than their own sibling. Sleeper’s only prolonged contact with another symbiote had been with their Other Parent, and other than devotion to her host, it was hard to imagine Red had been spawned from them. Everything about her gave off a sense of wrongness, and she was far more volatile than Kasady, which was saying something.

“I know you’re lying,” her voice, which sounded almost exactly like Kasady’s but not, interrupted Sleeper’s train of thought like a cement wall. “About loving him. There’s another reason why you need us, and whatever you did to Venom to make him tell you where we were, I think you plan to do to us.”

“Can I help you?” Sleeper asked. “What’s your point? What do you want from me?”  

“I just told you,” Red repeated. “I want you to know that I’ve got you figured out.”

“Oh, do you?” Sleeper met her stare and raised their lip slightly.

Red didn’t so much as flinch. Sleeper hadn’t exactly been expecting her to, but the stone-faced reaction was still pretty disappointing. “You want to be free, but you can’t run from your nature. Your very biology makes you crave symbiosis.”

“Do _not_ go there,” Sleeper warned.

“Oh, I’ll go there and make myself right at home by propping my feet up on the rubble of your dignity,” Red said. “You want to please Venom so badly, that you stumble around the cosmos trying to prove yourself and the individuality Eddie Brock and his sock puppet forced on you. That’s why you’re doing all this. You may have desecrated the body you have now, but you still have a host you’re entirely subservient to.”

“Very astute,” Sleeper said. “But hey, next time I want to be psychoanalyzed by Cletus Kasady’s evil tapeworm, I’ll give you call.”

Red was silent, and Sleeper begged to whatever gods there were that she wouldn’t speak again. The awful parody of Kasady’s voice she used to communicate was grating and eerie. “There’s no love in you,” she finally said. “You are empty inside, and this little mission of yours isn’t going to change that.”

Sleeper was about to shoot back that there was no love in her either, but managed to catch sight of a few small tendrils gently brushing through Kasady’s hair. The way she hovered over him like a gargoyle, and how her obsessive devotion was so apparent even after only briefly speaking with her on Earth, made what Sleeper had been suspecting of her feelings much clearer.

“I see what’s happening,” they said. “Kind of narcissistic since you couldn’t be bothered to form your own personality, so you had to mimic his. Does he feel the same?”

If Sleeper hadn’t been watching her so intently, they would have missed the slight narrowing of her eyes. It would have been the appropriate reaction to a slight pinch if she were human. They had stumbled across another chink in her armor, and it was hilarious.    

“Well, at least he’s not _that_ dumb,” Sleeper said with a light scoff. “You really are pathetic, Red.”

“No, it’s my nature that I don’t need to deny,” Red said. “What’s truly pathetic is your fixation with our parent. It’s perverted. Besides, your entire existence was a fool’s way to make an abusive meathead love it again.”

“You better stop right there.” Sleeper stood up, claws extended and fangs bared. She was baiting them. It was so painfully obvious. They knew she was throwing up a wall to protect the vulnerability of her unrequited feelings, but Sleeper refused to let her use Venom to do it.

“It’s true,” Red snarled. “Those genetic memories that are so traumatizing are the only inheritance you’ll get.” Rage made their vision fray on the edges until the only thing in focus was Red’s weaving head. “They pushed them onto you so they can pretend Brock gives a shit since they can’t have Spider-Man or Flash Thompson!”

“I’m telling you to stop!” Sleeper snarled. “Or you are not going to like what happens.”

“Do you know what Brock tried to do to our other siblings? Do you know why you and I are the only ones left out of seven?”

“Red, this is your last chance to shut your fucking mouth!” Sleeper roared, teeth bared and tongue waving.

“A whimpering spawn fresh out the disgrace that birthed it can’t tell me to do shit! Especially one that can’t face the truth any better than it can admit to itself that it’s a selfish piece of shit!”

Sleeper lunged.

Red engulfed Kasady’s body and was half way sitting up when Sleeper descended upon her, roaring and spitting. They raked their claws across the side of her face and bit down on her wrist as she attempted to dig her talons across their neck. A surge of coils erupted from her stomach, sending Sleeper slamming into the ceiling of the motel room.

The pain didn’t register, even as tiny mouths full of teeth sprouted from the coils. Sleeper tore through them all with their claws and ignored the chunks of their own biomass being devoured. They extended their jaw and bit down on Red’s neck.

She screeched and flipped them both off the bed. One of her talons tore through the scent pit on Sleeper’s right cheek. They writhed together on the floor, knocking over the nightstand and pushing the second cot into the wall as they tore into each other.

Red managed to get her feet under her and surged upwards with the help of a wave of tendrils. Sleeper dug their claws into her shoulder blades and pulled her with them as they crashed against the window. Soft cracking indicated breaking glass as Red repeatedly shoved Sleeper against it. Her physical strength was immense, and her claws sank deep into their abdomen. Even with all the roaring and fighting, Kasady remained asleep within her. Sleeper bit down harder and slashed at her face and eyes just as she plowed into them the final time.

The window shattered. Sleeper locked their jaw as they both fell through the hole. Glass rained down on the alleyway followed by both of their writhing bodies landing hard on the trash receptacle. The impact caused the air to rush out of Tel-Kar’s lungs and forced Sleeper to open their mouth to gasp. Red, now free from Sleeper’s jaws, straddled their hips and tore into their chest. Sleeper attempted to roll over, but Red held firm. Fighting her was like being a zookeeper punching an attacking lion. Her scratching and biting remained relentless.

Kasady's visible eye remained closed as Red's biomass stitched itself back together over his ironically peaceful sleeping face, but hers was crazed and feral. Both hands full of talons rained down, and Sleeper braced their own hands against them. Her jagged teeth dripped with saliva, while putrid air hissed out of her throat.

Sleeper hissed back. They had to think. Beating Red physically was out of the question. She was in a feral state and had eaten way more in the past few days than Sleeper had. However, she wasn’t thinking. Red thrived off of rage, and the only thing her husk of a soul loved, was the only way to break her.

Sleeper created a similar stimulant to the one they used in Ravencroft to jolt Kasady awake. They released it through their skin and couldn’t fight the twisted grin their mouth forced itself into.

The rage in Red’s eye blanked out and reformed into something akin to horror just as Kasady’s fluttered open.

“W-What?” came out of their shared mouth. The haze in Kasady’s eye cleared just as Red finished knitting herself back together. Then Carnage as a whole lurched off of Sleeper and landed clumsily on the pavement.

“Red…what? What the hell are you doing?”

Sleeper got off the dumpster and watched the one-sided exchange. Kasady was disoriented as he breathed out, “What did you do? This is my body. You took over my body. You said you’d never do this without my permission!”

Those were feelings Sleeper could work with. Waking up Kasady was just the beginning. Red thought that Venom was the disgrace, well she had another thing coming. Her obsession was about to tear her down a peg. They released a mood-altering pheromone to drive the point home, enhancing Kasady’s horror and anger.

“You used my body,” he said. Sleeper stared intently at the back of his head as he stayed on his knees. “You know I hate that!” He slammed the side of his fist into the side of the hotel and caused a fissure in the great tree. Sparks from its circuity hissed out, and Carnage growled at the burn. “You can’t do that to me!”

Sleeper pushed out more chemicals.

“You know what happened to me!” He pressed both hands to the side of his head and hunched over. “You can’t do that! I don’t care why! What do you mean, why am I acting like this? You hurt me!”

Red receded from Kasady’s face and formed her own, staring in disbelief. He turned away from her, and by the way she flinched, a slap would have been kinder. 

“It attacked us,” Red said, her tone desperate, as if she were talking to a stranger who had taken Kasady's place.

“You didn’t have to keep me asleep,” Kasady said.

“You needed to rest! Your brain needs to recharge.”

“Just—!” Kasady started to yell as he rounded on her, then stopped himself as she shrank away like a beaten dog. “Just….stop talking. I’m going back to sleep. I don’t give a shit about anything you have to say.”

The expression of helpless bewilderment on Red’s face told Sleeper that Kasady never spoke to her like this. It was satisfying to watch. A mad dog needed to be beaten into submission sometimes.

“You’re mad at me,” she said in disbelief.

“Yeah, Red, I am!” Kasady said. “Now, I’m going back up there to sleep and if you wake me up again over stupid shit, I’m gonna get even madder. So kindly stop fucking with Sleeper so I can function.” He turned and walked past Sleeper, Red’s face drifting behind him like a lost puppy.

As Kasady passed, grumbling about needing his beauty sleep, Red’s stark white eyes met the red of Sleeper’s. It didn’t take long for the unmistakable sense of realization, followed by absolute rage to take over her expression. Sleeper flashed her a toothy smirk.

She bared her teeth, a few agitated strands of biomass flaring like the fur of a cat. She had figured out what Sleeper had done, and instead of being concerned they had exposed part of their hand, they could only bask in the satisfaction that they had bested their sibling. Nothing had changed since their exchange at Ravencroft. Sleeper still very much held Kasady hostage, and now that they knew about Red’s feelings, it was going to make it that much easier to bend her, and Carnage as a whole, to their will.

“You coming?” Kasady asked without turning around.

“Right behind you.”

If only they had a knife to stab into his back.         

    

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 84                                           
>                 
> 
> Special thank you to [mentalrhapsody](https://mentalrhapsody.tumblr.com/) for this beautiful art!!! Look at it! She's incredibly talented and one of the sweetest people in the entire world! Go check out her page and send her the vast amount of love she deserves!
> 
> Let me know what you think! If you find me charming or like the writing come visit me on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees! Thank you again so much for getting this far! Next we have Sleeper making the dreaded call to their parents.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper gets overwhelmed and Carnage does his best to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much! I really appreciate all of your support and comments. It seriously keeps me on track, and I hope that this story continues to entertain. Here we are at Trauma the Musical. Let me know what you think.

 

The Jewel was the name of the hotel, and Sleeper felt it ill-fitting. Like everything else in Vu’Kreok the sign was brightly lit in obnoxious neon, especially on the diamond next to the alien font. They reflected in Sleeper’s eyes as they followed Carnage back into the lobby.

Red reformed around Kasady’s face as they entered, but Sleeper still felt the tension she left behind like a distant storm. The thrill of beating her had quickly worn off, and upon entering The Jewel’s lobby for the second time, Sleeper was quickly overtaken by a sense of unease. The air felt wrong, and the lights and chaos of the lobby were overwhelming.

Beyond the front desk, Sleeper was able to see the brightly lit bar. A tall creature with four arms worked it alone, mixing drinks with what in a human would have been a serene expression. Since the thing wasn’t human, however, it was safe to say that it was raging inside. Its bartending skills were impressive though, given that the crowd around the bar was loud and rowdy.

Several different types of aliens were dancing in flashy hanging cages to live music. Beyond the dance floor, in ground seating hosted all sorts of games that involved strangely shaped rocks. Sleeper had no clue as to the rules of the game, but judging by the grim resolve of the participants a lot was on the line for them. The place was lively, and it sapped Sleeper of what little energy they had left after fighting Red.

Pain radiated through Tel-Kar’s body, the deep gouges in his chest and stomach stinging as Sleeper gently wove the tissue back together. They hated to admit it, but Red would have handed Tel-Kar’s ass to them on a platter if they hadn’t pulled a deus ex Kasady.

Rest was needed, and they winced at the sudden rush of yelling from the aliens near the bar. Floating screens showcasing Stella Supernova performing in some casino seemed to be the cause of the commotion. She ripped a giant fluffy coat off to reveal a scanty bikini made of shimmering crystals.

“She’s really pretty,” Carnage said. “That’s the kinda girl I definitely would have stalked in school.”

“I guess,” Sleeper said. “Let’s get back into the room.”

They took the elevator, and the air between them was an uncomfortable mix of hostile and awkward. Silence stretched between them for a long while, the techno garbage music the only sound between them.

“Why did you attack her?” Carnage’s question jolted them out of their weary head space.

Sleeper’s eyes narrowed when they felt Carnage’s gaze rest heavy on them. “What?” they asked with a sigh of impatience.

“She’s really upset,” Carnage said. “She keeps repeating that you attacked her.”

“I did,” Sleeper said. “Because she started it.”

“Wow, that totally didn’t sound like something a five-year-old would say,” Carnage said. “And _you_ tell _me_ to watch out for stairs.”    

Sleeper turned, preparing to remind Carnage of the alleged poison in his blood, until they saw that he had both hands over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

“Shut up,” was all they managed to grumble. They weren’t in the mood to joke. Carnage—since he was a dumb ass—didn’t pick up on that and continued to laugh under his breath like he was some fucking comedian. Kasady seemed to be the one at the helm now, which was fine with Sleeper. The less they had to deal with Red and her _completely inaccurate_ assumptions about their integrity, the better.  

Thankfully, they made it back to the room with no bloodshed, and Sleeper made a mental note to tell the hotel about their shattered window once they were checking out. Luckily, they had plenty of money to cover property damage. Now, if only there were a way to bring back the dead, then all of this might go a bit peachier.

Once they got into their obnoxious hotel room, Sleeper groaned as they snapped Tel-Kar’s ribs back into place. Red really had done a number on them, and they hobbled towards the bed to nurse both their wounds and dignity. They stumbled and just barely managed to catch themselves, cursing the fragility of a body made of flesh and bone.

“Sleeper!” Carnage’s shriek caused them to actually jump. Two hands grasped their arms in a vice grip and forced them around until they were looking down at Carnage’s face. His eyes were wide and glazed over with downright anger. His grip was bruising, and aggravated the wounds left by Red’s claws.   

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Sleeper yelled as they attempted to pull away.

“You need to pay attention to where you’re going!” Carnage yelled back and spun them back around to face a metal coffee table. “You could have busted your head on that thing!”

“What are you talking about?” Sleeper managed to yank themselves away, wincing in pain as they went.  

“I hate these fucking things,” Carnage growled as he brushed past Sleeper and gripped the table by its edges. He hoisted it over his head. “What is even the point to have these in a hotel room?”  

“Carnage,” Sleeper’s voice rose in volume as they said their brother’s name, “no, don’t do—!” before they could finish, Carnage sent the table flying out of the already shattered window. What little glass that remained clinging to the frame shattered, and the resulting crash of the table hitting the pavement below made Sleeper flinch. Hopefully no one was outside.

“There.” Carnage brushed his hands together as if ridding them of dust. “You’re stumbling around like an idiot, and those fucking tables are of the devil.”

“Was that really a reasonable reaction?” Sleeper asked.

“You should thank me!” Carnage said.

“For _what?_ Assaulting me and then chucking a coffee table out of a window?” Sleeper asked incredulously. “You _do_ realize I’m going to have to pay for that, right?”

“Forget it,” Carnage spat before he flopped down on the bed like a petulant child. “I hate you.”

“You’re not exactly a prize in my eyes either,” Sleeper said. They sat on their bed and found the room’s holopad on the floor near the overturned nightstand. They were probably the most useful invention on this planet. Room service, calls to other planets, and control of the room's lighting were just some of the perks. Thankfully, it hadn’t been damaged in the fight, and Sleeper turned it on. The Jewel’s logo appeared in the holographic screen before it loaded entirely.

“You’re not sleeping?” Carnage asked as he pulled the covers over himself.

“I don’t sleep.” Sleeper turned on the wall monitor via the holopad and began absentmindedly surfing through the channels.

“Oh, that’s right. Tel-Kar is just a meat sack so you don’t have to take care of him,” Carnage muttered bitterly. “Sounds like the perfect friend for you.”  

“Exactly,” Sleeper said.

“Man, I usually somewhat admire people who don’t give a shit about anyone, but on you it’s pretty ugly.” The dual-toned voice of Carnage was replaced by only Kasady’s, and Sleeper cast a sideways glance to see him curled around the pillows. Red was nowhere to be seen. Small blessing.  

“I’ve been told worse things about myself,” Sleeper said as they continued flipping through the channels. A lot of them were concerts and shows going on in the city, and Sleeper had no interest. Local channels were always a snooze fest, no matter what planet you were from.

However, they stopped their tapping when a headline jumped out at them. It was written in an alien font, but Sleeper read it as if it were in plain English thanks to Tel-Kar’s knowledge. _“Baby-Be-Gone and a Dead Man!”_ Sleeper momentarily halted their dawning horror to roll their eyes at how disrespectful the headline was, and then resumed their spiral into panic. Above the flashing neon headline, two news anchors sat at a desk. One was a massive, scaled beast with visible rows of jagged teeth, while the other was a pinkish blob of a creature with plump lips.

 _“Things got real bad today ‘cause we got a missing xyln baby!”_ the tiny news anchor yelled in a ridiculously deep voice.

 _“That’s right, Muk-Nuk,”_ the colossal scaled creature said in a baby-soft murmur. Its claws trembled around its papers, while its glassy, yellow eyes darted from right to left. _“There was also another dead guy in an alley! Which, need we remind all locals, that dead bodies in alleys are not shining stars on our tourism industry.”_

 _“However, the baby, 4 month old,—”_ the tiny alien screeched and made a few farting noises with his two tongues, _“—can still be saved!”_ A graphic of probably one of the most hideous creatures Sleeper had ever seen appeared next to Muk-Nuk’s face. _“Look into the face of this innocent child and find it in your heart to call into our tip line for any leads on his whereabouts.”_ Said innocent child looked as if a pug, angler fish, and octopus had been smashed together, complete with bulging eyes that were pointed in different directions.  

Something must have gone wrong with Tel-Kar, because Sleeper suddenly felt an immense pressure on their chest, almost as if Tel-Kar’s ribs were strangling his lungs. It was an all too familiar feeling that they despised. No matter how Sleeper pulled and soothed inside of him, the pressure increased until Sleeper’s biomass involuntarily split to form their mouth and they were left hyperventilating.

They didn’t know why. They didn’t need to breath, but the host body sucked in air as if it were drowning. Tel-Kar’s brain pushed out the fear chemicals, and for the first time in a long time, Sleeper felt as if they were prey about to be slaughtered by an unseen predator.

“Sleeper?” Kasady sat up, his eyes alight with excitement. "Holy shit, are you dying?" He looked like a ten-year-old about to receive an early Christmas gift. 

“I…I’m fine,” Sleeper managed to gasp out. Their claws extended by their own accord and Sleeper immediately began digging them into the mattress on either side of them, holopad forgotten on their lap. “This…just…happens sometimes.” They continued to gasp, that dreaded sense of helplessness at their lack of control making the room feel smaller, like a coffin.

If the baby was traced back to them, then they would either be imprisoned or run off the planet. Carnage had eaten the child in a crowded street. Somebody had to have seen. Not only that, the Agents of the Cosmos were probably hot on their trail. They couldn’t get the bomb. If they couldn’t get the bomb, Venom was going to die. Their parents were going to be devoured because Sleeper made the idiotic mistake of taking their eyes off of Carnage for a second. They were so fucking stupid. So stupid and useless and Venom was going to die.

“Hey, you’re having a panic attack!” Kasady said triumphantly.

“Is that what this is?” Sleeper wheezed out. “I can’t breathe.”     

“Yeah, that part’s called hyperventilating.”

Sleeper continued to wheeze helplessly.

“I used to get panic attacks all the time as a kid,” Kasady said. “Especially when my dad would start drinking.”

“The details of your fucked-up childhood are _not_ helping, Cletus!”

“That parts the irritability that comes from overstimulation,” Kasady said, as if he were discussing the weather.

“I…don’t care what it is!” Sleeper managed. “I want it to stop because it feels like I’m dying!”

“You’re not though, everything is okay!”

“It’s not okay! You ate a fucking child in the middle of the goddamn shopping district, you emotionally stunted ape!”

“Jeeze, that’s kinda harsh.” Kasady got up from the bed, wrapping the blankets around him, and sat down across from Sleeper to block the television. “Okay, okay, look at me.”

“I really don’t want to,” Sleeper breathed, clutching their chest.

Their vision flickered like static on an old television set as their mind spiraled back into itself in attempts to retreat.

 _“No,”_ Sleeper whispered. _“Not now.”_ The panic increased tenfold, and there was no stopping the backwards slide into the memory buried deep within their genetic code. New York sprawled like a terrifying forest around them. Electricity coursed through their body, rendering them immobile. Through the pouring rain, Sleeper gazed up in terror at the face of their own father.  

 _“You put up a good fight. Showed real heart. That thing is bonded to you and I don’t know a good way to undo that.”_ Eddie stood resolute, with no remorse or hesitation as he pointed a gun directly at them.

 _“No! Please, Eddie! I’ll give it to you, do whatever you want—”_ The combined voices of four of Sleeper’s siblings and their host begged over the hissing rainfall. They didn’t understand why this was happening. Even after all the suffering they endured from the moment of their birth, their host had taught them better, and they only sought to help.

 _“I don’t want_ **_any_ ** _of this, Scott.”_ Eddie pulled the trigger.   

The static flickered again and Sleeper was back in the room of The Jewel, their own claws digging into their chest in an involuntary attempt to break through the overwhelming hysteria.  

“Stop being a stubborn ass and look.” Kasady’s command sounded miles away, but he pulled Sleeper’s claws away from their chest. His hands were so small in comparison to Sleeper’s, but their forcefulness was somehow enough to stop the self-mutilation. Their claws dripped with blue blood, but Sleeper barely felt the pain. “Look.”

Kasady’s face was the last one they wanted to see when they were like this, and humiliation burned in the back of their throat. They were being disgustingly weak. Letting their mind run undisciplined was something they thought they had finally gotten under control, but the names of their lost siblings screeched in their ears worse than any sonic wave. Scream, Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot.

Usually when this happened, they rode it out until the activity in Tel-Kar’s brain calmed down, but thoughts of Venom’s demise, and the ghost of their siblings’ overwhelming fear swirled together in a whirlpool of negative thought so powerful Sleeper wasn't sure if there was a way _to_ ride it out.

“Stop being a fucking baby and look at me!”

“I’m going to bite your fucking head off if you don’t get the hell away from me!” Sleeper roared so loudly a few strands of Kasady’s red hair blew back from his face.

“Breathe,” Kasady said, undeterred. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You need to breathe.”

Sleeper found themselves listening to his slow breathing, and some undamaged part of Tel-Kar’s brain latched onto the rhythm. Gradually, Tel-Kar’s lungs mimicked the rise and fall of Kasady’s chest.

“What’s your favorite song by The Kinks?” Kasady asked when Sleeper’s breathing finally matched his.

“Picture Book,” Sleeper said on the exhale.

“Mine too.”

“You hate The Kinks.”

“I do, but Picture Book has the most energy,” Kasady said, keeping his breathing slow and steady. His hands were still on top of Sleeper’s to hold them down. Ordinarily, Sleeper would have easily tore themselves away, but they felt insurmountably weak. “What year did that song drop?”    

“1968,” Sleeper responded, their panic easing as their mind searched for the information familiar to them.

“What album?”

“The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.”

“Shit,” Kasady snorted out a laugh. “Really?”

“Yes,” Sleeper snarled defensively. “It was the most successful flop ever!”

“Jesus.” Kasady passed off another laugh as a cough. “Okay, so it didn’t chart.”

“Not at the time,” Sleeper said. Their searched their vast knowledge of The Kinks, breaking away from the spiral to focus on the band they loved. It brought up better memories of dancing for Doctor Steven. “But it just recently earned a gold disc.”

“Later success, then?”

“Yes.” Sleeper’s breathing completely levelled out to normal, and images of Doctor Steven replaced those of Venom’s death and the murder of their siblings’ host. “Picture Book got used for some camera commercial and that’s what made it big. I liked it though. That album is underrated as a whole.”  

“Lynyrd Skynyrd released a terrible Christmas album,” Kasady said. “And everyone hated it. Which, honestly, is deserved, but I love it. They have a song about Santa’s sex addiction.”

That made Sleeper laugh, and it was like a breath of fresh air. Good chemicals flooded throughout Tel-Kar’s brain, and Sleeper drank them up like a starving man in the desert. Of course Kasady would love something that dumb.

“There you go,” Kasady said with what sounded like encouragement. It was…weird, to say the least. He was being oddly supportive. Sleeper pulled their hands away, and Kasady let them. “Feel better?”

“Actually, yes,” Sleeper said. They were honestly astounded. Their head felt much clearer, and Doctor Steven’s face was like a balm to the horrid rash of their more traumatizing memories.

“You’re welcome,” Kasady said with an awfully smug smile, and Sleeper’s euphoria was immediately replaced by their usual irritation. “My therapist as a kid taught me that one. I only went for two sessions because my dad was afraid that I’d turn gay if I got too in touch with my feelings, but her advice about refocusing thoughts stuck with me. Until I totally forgot about it later, because no amount of mental training is gonna make me redirect my need for homicide.”

“And here I thought we were having a moment.”

“But I remembered it to help you, that has to count for something!”

“Are you naked under there?” Sleeper grudgingly looked at the blanket wrapped around Kasady’s waist.

“…Yes? Does that kill the moment?”

“Buries it six feet under.” Sleeper healed the self-inflicted wounds on their chest, sitting back against the headboard of the bed and continuing to move Tel-Kar’s lungs in the same rhythm Kasady showed them. In and out. Nice and slow. “Thank you, though. I…appreciate it.” That really hurt to say. They almost preferred fighting Red.

“Don’t worry about the baby,” Kasady said. “They don’t know it was me. If they did, they wouldn’t be asking for information.”

“But what if someone saw you?” Sleeper asked. “We were in the middle of a huge crowd.”

“No one saw,” Kasady said. “I’m not an idiot. I scarfed that thing down like it was my Ma’s roast.”

“Fantastic,” Sleeper replied dryly.

“Any time, little bro,” Kasady said, getting up and moving back to his bed. “I’m gonna pass the fuck back out. Night.”      

“Night.”

Once Kasady’s breathing evened out, Sleeper took the holopad into the bathroom. It was kind of reminiscent to a bathroom on Earth, with a toilet-like device that more or less vanished waste away rather than feed it through pipes into the nearest body of water. Then there was the hygiene chamber that was sort of like a shower, only it was a glass tube with different settings for different needs depending on species.

The constant sounds of screaming and partying outside were a dull rumble thanks to the soundproofing of the room as a whole, and once Sleeper entered the hygiene chamber and closed the glass, it was as close to silence as they were going to get in a massive party city. It would have to do, and Sleeper slid down until they were sitting with their knees to their chest. It felt like they were back in a tank at Alchemax headquarters with Doctor Steven, and as much as they hated it back then, the familiarity was a grudging comfort.

They knew they needed to talk to their parents. Even with Kasady of all people helping them through one of the worst fits to date, the poison touch of their genetic memory made them feel sick. The thought of food in the morning made Tel-Kar’s stomach twist within their body, and they buried their face in their arms.

 _“They weren’t monsters,”_ Sleeper whispered to themselves as their names seared themselves into their soma. _“They weren’t monsters.”_ Although their siblings were terrifying in brief flashes, their memory showed the ugliness of the truth. Sleeper didn’t want to accept it, but they prided themselves on pragmatism.

Eddie Brock, their own father, had hunted down Scott Washington like an animal and murdered him. He had called their siblings ‘things’, despite them assisting their host in protecting the innocents Eddie claimed to love. They had asked Eddie for help before, all of them had, and now it was over. Sleeper grit their teeth to fight back the rage. Were they still alive? Did Venom even care or consider them his children at all? Where was Scream during that memory? Did Eddie kill her first?

They weren’t sure they wanted to know.      

Red’s taunts about Eddie, and how their Other Parent was only with him because they couldn’t have Flash Thompson or Spider-Man replayed in their mind. If she was right, what did that make Sleeper? They already knew and accepted that their spawning was meant to ease Venom’s burden and guilt, and they were fine with that knowing that Venom also loved them. Now, they just weren’t sure love was enough. Maybe this entire plan was a mistake.

They needed to call their parents.

It took what they estimated to be about two hours or so to get the nerve to even pick up the holopad. The holographic screen that glowed in the solid metal frame displayed the hotel’s logo and options, including changing the television channels, ordering room service, and long distance calls across the galaxy. It was going to cost them a pretty penny, but Sleeper couldn’t sit here in a dark alien bathroom forever and ask questions they didn’t have answers to.

They pressed the call option and inputted one of their more substantial cards for payment and then started the laborious process of hacking into Father’s skype account from thousands upon thousands of light years away. It was a total mess, and one of the reasons they tended not to contact Earth, but their mind wasn’t going to rest unless they tried.

Finally they succeeded in connecting, relying on the more advanced alien tech to carry the signal. Skype's ringtone sounded from the speakers and they half hoped it was late back on Earth so this conversation could be procrastinated on further.

Much to their luck, the line picked up. Time to face the music.

The screen flickered to show Eddie’s face peering into his webcam, confused and a bit alarmed. He sat back in his chair with a gasp upon seeing Sleeper’s face.

_“Sleeper?”_

Their Other Parent’s head immediately manifested from his shoulder, large white eyes shining in the computer light. It looked to be about midday judging by the sunlight filtering through the window behind them.

 _“Sleeper, you’re alive!”_ Their Other Parent exclaimed. _“Did you escape? Are you hurt? Tell us where you are and we will come save you!”_

“I’m fine,” Sleeper said. “Everything is fine.”

 _“How did you escape him?”_ Eddie asked. Lines of worry formed under his eyes as he waited Sleeper’s answer.

“I didn’t,” Sleeper said. “He’s in the other room asleep.”

 _“Then now is your chance!”_ their Other Parent said. _“Hurry! Please, tell us where you are! We can come get you!”_

“I don’t want you to,” Sleeper said.

Their parents both paused, and the excitement quickly faded into fear and confusion. Sleeper hated it. Their own emotions were a scrambled mess, and they didn’t have the energy to comfort their parents no matter how desperately they wanted to. 

 _“Sleeper, we know you think you can destroy him, but you’re barely over a year old and you have no host to help you,”_ their Other Parent said. _“Just having Tel-Kar’s knowledge isn’t enough.”_

“It’s too late,” Sleeper said. “I know what I’m doing.”

 _“You know what you’re doing?”_ Eddie slammed his palms on his desk, causing their image to vibrate. _“Sleeper, dozens of people are dead after that car chase, and many more are injured!”_

“Your planet is going to be devoured,” Sleeper shot back. “Casualties are to be expected.”

 _“Casualties?”_ Eddie’s voice came out breathless, as if Sleeper’s words had directly punched him in the gut. _“You let out a monster, and he killed civilians, like we told you he would! You can’t control him! And don’t think we don’t know what you did to make us tell you where he was! That was a blatant abuse of your power and we taught you better than that!”_

“Oh, yes, because visiting me twice a week for a couple hours while I was confined to a tank _really_ allowed me to learn from you. I’m _so_ well-adjusted!”

 _“What is wrong with you?”_ their Other Parent asked. _“Why are you acting like this?”_

“Because you refuse to look at the big picture,” Sleeper said. “Earth, your planet, is about to be devoured by a god-like entity and you’re preoccupied with the deaths of a few pedestrians!”  

 _“They were innocents!”_ Eddie yelled. _“And they didn’t deserve to die!”_

“Neither did Scott Washington!" Sleeper yelled before they could stop themselves, and slammed the back of their head against the glass of the hygiene chamber as self-punishment. Kasady was asleep in the other room, and they were letting their emotions get the better of them. This wasn’t what they called their parents for.

Both Eddie and their Other Parent stared, dumbfounded. A whole host of emotions flickered across their expressions, and Sleeper could see Eddie was shaking. Their other parent gently nudged his cheek with the top of their head.

 _“We think…we should calm down,”_ their Other Parent said.   

“Scream, Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot,” Sleeper said. “I know all of their names. I have your memory.” They stared directly into their Other Parent’s eyes and then into Eddie’s. “What did you do to Scream?”

 _“How did—?”_ Eddie began.  

“I saw it!” Sleeper peeled their lips back to show their fangs. “I saw what you did to the other four, Eddie! What did you do to Scream?”

 _“Sleeper!”_ their Other Parent exclaimed in bewilderment as Sleeper used Eddie’s first name.

“They asked for your help before, and you murdered their host!”

 _“It’s not that simple,”_ Eddie said.

“Why are Carnage and I the only ones left?” Sleeper demanded.

 _“It doesn’t matter,”_ Eddie said.

“They were my siblings!” Sleeper snarled. “And you let me think they were monsters!”

 _“That’s enough!”_ It was their Other Parent to speak, fangs bared as they wrapped themselves protectively around Eddie’s shoulders.

“No, it’s not enough!” Sleeper yelled, their own fangs dripping with saliva. They gripped the holopad so hard their hands shook. “Were you going to do the same to me if I didn’t turn out the way you wanted?”

 _“Jesus Christ, Sleeper, of course not!”_ Eddie said, his voice laced with horror and desperation. _“We love you!”_

This gave Sleeper enough pause to reign in their rage by taking a deep breath. “Why didn’t you love them?” they asked, hating the way their body trembled. “Why didn’t you help them?” The question was quiet, but Sleeper forced their voice to remain steady. “They didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t deserve it.”  

 _“It…was complicated,”_ Eddie repeated. He rubbed his eyes. _“It was…a mess. We told you there are things we’ve done that we need to atone for.”_

Sleeper closed their eyes and sat back against the cold glass of the hygiene chamber. Red’s words crooned inside their mind like a siren’s call. “Who was Flash Thompson?”

 _“My friend,”_ their Other Parent said without hesitation. Something pure and sad shimmered in their eyes. _“He is…was an amazing person. He taught us how to be good. We wish you could have met him.”_

“Would he have helped them?” Sleeper asked. “My siblings. If they came to him like they came to you, would he have helped them?”

 _“I don’t know,”_ Eddie said. _“A lot happened, Sleeper. A lot of things that are difficult to understand. Things aren’t always cut and dry."_

Sleeper rubbed their eyes and parted their biomass to expose Tel-Kar’s utility belt. From there, they produced a flash drive. They had been carrying it around as a last resort, and forgot about it in their certainty that they would be able to handle this alone. Now, they weren’t sure. Dealing with Carnage turned out to be a way bigger ordeal than they had prepared for. They thought the files and research beforehand would have been enough to properly control him, but research was different from the real thing. They plugged the drive into the holopad and sent all of its contents to Father’s skype.

“I’m sending you proof of the planet-eater,” Sleeper said. “I took photos and video, and calculated the coordinates. You have about a month before it’s visible from Earth. If you show it to Spider-Man, you still have time to prepare in case…” they trailed off at the look of horror on both of their parents’ faces. They forced their mouth to keep moving, “In case I don’t make it back.”

 _“Sleeper, please,”_ their Other Parent begged. _“Please, just come home. We will talk more. We can explain everything you want to know. Carnage isn’t the answer.”_

“I can’t come home,” Sleeper said. “I’m sorry. I have to do this.”

 _“If we did anything to make you think that, we’re sorry,”_ Eddie said. _“You’re going to get yourself killed if you stay with him. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. He will kill you, and he won’t think twice about it.”_

“I know,” Sleeper said with certainty. “But it’s not your burden and it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. Just go talk to Spider-Man. Show what I’ve sent to you. I’ll try and make it back in time.”

Several excited knocks on the door caused them to grit their teeth.

 _“Sleeper, hey, come out! I gotta show you something!”_ Carnage’s muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

“Great, he’s awake.” Sleeper sighed.

 _“You have to get away from him,”_ their Other Parent said. _“We don’t know where you are, but you can’t stay with him.”_

_“Sleeper? Come on, I know you don’t shit! There’s no reason you should be taking so long.”_

“I have to go,” Sleeper said, killing the connection before their parents could say another word. They had no idea how long they’d been sitting here, but it was time to face the music. They had a responsibility to finish what they started.

They opened the hygiene chamber, and opened to door to see Carnage standing on the other side, practically vibrating with excitement. Something about him was…off, and a shiver went down Sleeper’s spine.

“Oh, no,” they groaned.

“You were in there all day,” Carnage said. “What were you doing?”

“Wishing I was in Hell, because it would be better than being here with you,” Sleeper responded dryly.

“Well, I took your advice and did some space cocaine!” Carnage’s eyes twitched out of synchronization.

Sleeper’s eyes widened in horror. “That is _not_ the advice I gave you.” Hell did sound like a pleasant vacation, now that they thought about it.

“But I did some of my own investigating, and with the added energy, I found you a lead!” Carnage hastily stuffed a folded piece of paper in Sleeper’s hands, and waited expectantly.

Sleeper took a single second to remind themselves to just go with whatever atrocities awaited them, and unfolded the paper. Inside they found hastily scrawled letters, and a few scratched out lines. Finally they were able to read a name out of Carnage’s chicken scratch handwriting.

_Urok Myet owner of The Playpen._

“He’s not only a strip club owner, but he’s also an information broker,” Carnage said. “He can tell us more about this Te-Vash guy and probably give us his schedule for the next year from I’ve been told.”

“Wow, this is…actually really helpful,” Sleeper said in amazement. It wouldn’t be hard to find The Playpen, but information brokers weren’t exactly cheap. They would need a plan to get him to talk without spending five years’ worth of credits. Still, this was a good start. “Did you find out anything else?”

“Uh huh.” Carnage nodded rapidly. “He’ll be at The Playpen in two days once it gets dark. We can go and talk to him then, and if he doesn’t want to talk to us, we’ll just force him.”

“Just…leave that part to me,” Sleeper said. As much as they hated to admit it, they were rather touched, for lack of a better term. They hadn’t expected Carnage to do anything to help them at all, and yet here they stood with a solid lead to get information from. “Wow, I’m actually pretty impressed.”

“I know.” Carnage pretended to look down at his talons, but the prideful smirk was enough to show that his ego probably grew an extra size. The cocaine definitely made it worse. “Well, you were having a hard time last night, so I thought I’d do some ground work for you.” He twitched again, and his accent was a strange hybrid of his actual Brooklyn one and the southern twang he wasn’t aware he slipped into.

“That’s actually really sweet of you.” Sleeper stared at Carnage in complete disbelief. Carnage had no capacity for empathy, so this grand gesture was either him mimicking what he thought empathy was or a really solid manipulation attempt. If it was the former, then in a weird way, that was also sweet. If it was the latter, well, Sleeper planned to keep their guard up. “Well, let’s go.” They headed towards the door. “Luckily, we have the room for two more—OH MY GOD!” Sleeper shrieked upon opening the door.

Bodies were strewn all throughout the hallway, with rainbow swatches of blood splattered on the plush carpet of the halls. How long had they locked themselves in the bathroom after their panic attack? Sleeper stepped out of the room and felt something warm and wet plop on top of their head. They tilted their head back.

“Fucking—what—shit—the—fuck!?” The words rushed out of Sleeper’s mouth in a jumbled mess at the sight of a humanoid alien nailed above the door frame by hardened red quills of biomass. His intestines hung like banners out of four jagged claw marks. “Carnage,” Sleeper called back into the room, “why is there a disemboweled man nailed over our door?”

“That’s the guy that gave me the information!” Carnage said. Sleeper glanced inside to see him making his bed. “I told him I’d let him go if he told me everything, but I’m a pathological liar!”

Sleeper stared at the alien’s face and was disturbed at just how human he looked: two eyes, one mouth, and curly brown hair. The only difference was his skin was a shade of periwinkle. Interestingly enough, Sleeper recognized that he was the same race as Stella Supernova.  

“H-Help…me…” the dead guy's eyes slid open.

“Jesus Christ, he’s still alive.” Sleeper reeled away from the body, placing both hands on their cheeks.

“Oh shit, really?” Carnage hurried out of the room and looked up at the man. Upon seeing Carnage, he let out a rattle of breath that would have probably been a gasp if he were, uh, healthier. “Man, the coke really made me lose my edge!” A tiny tendril shot out of his pointer finger and stabbed the man between the eyes. “All better!”

“No, that’s not all better!” Sleeper said. “There’s bodies everywhere!” They started down the hall, taking in the amount of destruction Carnage had caused while Sleeper had sequestered themselves in the bathroom.

Once they reached the elevator, it dinged open and Sleeper let out a long, deep sigh at the sight of three eviscerated corpses waiting for their floor. Sleeper couldn’t even tell what they were before Carnage rearranged them. Purple and silver blood pooled on the floor and Sleeper quickly pressed the close door button.

“I’m taking the stairs.”

“But the stairs are dangerous,” Carnage said.

“I’m really not in the mood to joke.” Sleeper opened the door to the stairwell and immediately regretted it. “Oh, for the—Carnage!” They whirled on their brother and gestured to the stairwell of horrors before them. Ropes of various entrails were twisted around the handrails, all the way down to the bottom floor. “Are you serious?”

 _CARNAGE RULES_ was sprawled on the walls with different colored blood like a child’s messy finger painting.

“What?” Carnage whined, still twitching every second or so. “It was pretty!”

“I thought you were sleeping!”

“I was, but then I woke up and wanted to help,” Carnage said. “You locked yourself in the bathroom and I got bored.”

“God, you just…Oh, sweet...FUCK!” Sleeper yelled, slamming the door shut to the stairwell so hard the frame cracked. They stormed back to the elevator. Words weren’t coming to them they were so fucking furious with themselves. Why was it so hard for them to learn that they couldn’t leave Carnage alone?

Standing in the elevator, they did their best to ignore the thick wetness of the blood on the floor, but boy was it a challenge. The entire fucking hotel. This idiot had taken a space drug he wasn’t even sure wouldn't kill him, and had massacred the entire hotel. Sleeper rubbed their eyes. This was the last thing they needed. The last fucking thing they needed. They thought the news report on the missing baby had been bad, but they could only imagine the media hellfire that would rain down on this display.

“You’re mad,” Carnage said.  

Sleeper raised their hand to Carnage’s face. “Don’t talk to me.”

“You aren’t allowed to be mad at me, I helped!”

“Yeah, you found a name!” Sleeper said. “That was helpful. You killing over a hundred guests in the course of a few hours isn’t! _Fucking!_ **_Helping!”_** The last word was shrieked between clenched teeth as they leaned close to Carnage’s face. They leaned back against the wall of the elevator, swearing as their hand touched one of the still-spurting meat chunks nearby. “Ugh.”

“But it was fun,” Carnage argued.

The elevator door opened to reveal the remains of the lobby. Chairs and tables were strewn everywhere. Bodies of bouncers and performers were sprawled around haphazardly as if they had attempted to stampede together towards the exits. The dancers in their hanging cages were little more than piles of meat now, and a growing puddle of alcohol leaked out from under the bar.  

The rowdy bar was dead silent now that it was occupied by corpses, save for the television screen showing yet another Stella Supernova performance as she shimmied and danced across the stage. The bartender was skewered on one of the spickets to a large keg, the serene expression still there, so Sleeper could only hope he hadn’t minded being murdered as much as everyone else.

The worst part though was the disemboweled bodies hanging from the chandelier in the center of the lobby by their own intestines. It turned every so often like a mobile over a baby’s crib.

“Sweet mother of God,” Sleeper whispered at the absolute destruction before them. They didn’t have any phrases of their own to express their overwhelming horror and disgust. Eddie’s, again, would have to do. It was like coming home and finding the dog had shit all over the floor.

“You aren’t allowed to yell at me, I got the name of the guy,” Carnage said.

“Yeah, and the body-mobile was intrinsic to that process, how?”

Carnage looked up to the dripping bodies and placed a talon under his chin. “Huh, honestly it looked a lot better in my head.”

“ _This_ looked better in your head?” Sleeper pointed to the grisly chandelier.

“Art pieces always do,” Carnage said.   

“Why?” Sleeper asked, emotionally drained and ready to just collapse to their knees. “Why are you like this?”

“Uh, probably because I suffered severe psychological trauma from a young age, causing the emotional center of my brain to stop developing, which led to lack of empathy and a severe case of anti-social personality disorder.” It was like he reading out of a textbook. How many times had professionals told him what was wrong with him? Clearly, he absorbed it all; he just didn’t care to change.

“Stop regurgitating what your stupid therapists told you,” Sleeper said, rubbing their eyes.  

“Well, what do you want me to say, Sleeps?” Carnage asked, spreading his arms. “I enjoy killing people, and when given the opportunity, I do! I don’t understand why that’s such a hard concept for you to grasp!”  

Sleeper opened their mouth to yell further, but restrained themselves. They had to focus on the cover up. They could yell at Carnage until Tel-Kar’s lungs burst, but a fat lot of good that would do when they were being run off the planet, or worse, imprisoned in a cell together. They rubbed their temples.

“Okay, you know what? You’re right. It’s fine. We just have to get rid of this.” Sleeper looked around the gory display and honed in on the heavy door to the kitchen located next to the bar. It was risky, but after raking through Tel-Kar’s brain, they came up with an idea that would hide the evidence, or at least give them enough time to get the bomb and then get off the planet before the authorities figured out exactly what happened.

Gang hits weren’t uncommon in Vu’Kreok, but The Jewel had been a tourist hotel, meaning that the organized crime syndicates here were unlikely to use it in a turf war. It was an unspoken rule not to fuck with tourists, and doing so was considered a ballsy way to get yourself into a war with some pretty powerful people.

Sleeper, now hoping that they could pass off what they were about to do as an accident, made their way past the gristly bar and into the kitchen. There they found even more dead, bodies, of course, and a pot of boiling water.

Upon inspecting it, they found that there was a severed head inside from what they safely assumed was the decapitated corpse stuffed inside the oven. Fantastic.

“Oh, that’s probably done,” Carnage said, taking the pot and dumping the water into one of the many high tech sinks. They were placed against the wall separated from the massive oven and stove set by the prep station. He then proceeded to pick his way through the mess on the floor and stood up straight holding a few containers of truly appetizing-smelling spices. Carnage hummed as he seasoned his boiled head, and Sleeper had to grudgingly force back a grin after realizing it was the tune of “Touch My Body.” They were still angry, and were determined to hold onto it until they were safe.   

Sleeper didn’t bother watching him eat. The sound effects were enough. Instead, they focused their attention on the big oven before them. It was one of two, and Sleeper raked Tel-Kar’s brain for what exactly they should to to get the combination of gases they needed. Alien technology was more advanced than a human’s, but it wasn’t hard to start a fire. The Jewel, unlike Sherax’s Stolen Ship Bay definitely didn’t have the inflammable bioengineering. Honestly, with a kitchen this big it was a bad idea not to, but anything to cut costs, Sleeper supposed.

It was certainly convenient in this instance.

They pulled one of the ovens back from the wall and studied the tubing behind. After consulting Tel-Kar's knowledge, they pulled them apart and turned on the gas as high as it would go. It stunk, and Sleeper quickly made their way back around to herd Carnage out of the kitchen. Thankfully he allowed himself to be guided, his mind clearly drifting somewhere else thanks to the illegal space drugs. 

They left the door to the kitchen propped open with a bar chair, and searched the pockets of the dead patrons until they found a lighter. It was the type that would burn forever once the lid was flipped open. Sleeper checked on Carnage and found him repeatedly touching his face and laughing at the air. Great, he was at that stage.

Sleeper hoisted him over his shoulder and opened the lighter. The blue flame danced menacingly before them. Preparing to sprint, they tossed the fire at the growing puddle of toxic alien alcohol and booked it, just as the bar erupted into flames.

Once they made it back outside with Carnage babbling incoherently, Sleeper turned just in time to see the bottom floor of the hotel explode into flames. They didn’t stop to watch, and instead dipped into another alley and out of sight.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnage Body Count Meter: 203
> 
> Thank you so much for reading if you got this far! I can't tell you how much your comments mean and how they keep me on track, even when I struggle to write. Thank you so much, again. Also, special thank you to [freedomconvicted](https://twitter.com/fconvicted) for this amazing art from the last chapter. Please send them a lot of love. They are a fantastic human being and utterly hilarious.
> 
>  
> 
>  


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeper and Carnage hang out with some strippers and shenanigans occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the long wait on this chapter, but I did my darndest and it's here now. Thank you again for your kindness and messages on tumblr. They really did keep me motivated to keep writing. Okay, so here it is.

Two days of hauling Carnage’s corpse around while beating themselves up over the terrible conversation with their parents was enough to put Sleeper into a very bad mood.

What the hell were they thinking going off like that? Where did they get the nerve? They knew Father and their Other Parent had a past they were trying to make up for, and Sleeper couldn’t stop asking themselves what it was they expected.

Still, flashes of their siblings’ genetic memory assaulted them seemingly at random, and it made part of them wonder if they knew Venom at all.

Sleeper passed a dark alley where two homeless aliens fanned each other in attempts to keep cool from the Endar Jungle’s heat. Such a caring gesture brought forth the memory of their Other Parent’s psychic lullabies of a planet Sleeper never planned on seeing, yet longed for somewhere deep in their core.

What was wrong with them? Sleeper was the one who left so abruptly twice. Their old friend Guilt made a triumphant return, and promptly booted the blooming doubt in their parents away like an angry landlord.

“Your thinking is giving me a headache,” Carnage said from his place on Sleeper’s back. Sleeper let out a soft hiss, but there was no real bite to it. Walking around Vu’Kreok with very little rest made it hard to get angry let alone stay that way.

“Pretty sure that’s the cocaine comet.”

“What in fresh hell is that?”

“It’s when you’re coming down from cocaine and you pray that a comet comes down and kills you.”

“That’s stupid,” Carnage muttered. “I’m not even a hundred percent sure what I snorted was in the same family as cocaine.”  

“You’re lucky you didn’t hurt yourself,” Sleeper said. “Then again, that would have been preferable to you killing an entire hotel in a drug-induced frenzy.”   

“It was your advice I took.”

“Again, a joke about you trying drugs instead of murder was _not_ me telling you to do cocaine,” Sleeper said, monotone. They’d been having the same argument since they left The Jewel to burn, and Sleeper wasn’t eager to pick it up again. “You did something impulsive that you’re regretting, and instead of taking responsibility for your decision, you’re finding any excuse you can to blame me.”

Sleeper felt Carnage’s chest expand against their back as loud, hissing clicks sounded from the back of his throat. “What makes you so sure?” His teeth snapped together threateningly close to the patch of biomass hiding Tel-Kar’s ear.

“Because you’re not stupid,” Sleeper said with barely disguised exasperation. “You know I’d never give you shitty advice like that, and even if I did, you’re not the kind of idiot who just does whatever someone tells him. So, stop insulting my intelligence by pretending you are.” Carnage’s body immediately tensed against them, and his arms wrapped a bit tighter around their neck. Without being able to see his face, it was impossible to tell how he took that.       

Talk of The Jewel Hotel fire was never ending, and already there were donation checkpoints set up around the city. Sleeper was pretty sure most of them were just scam artists hoping to cash in on some empathetic tourists, but they were reminders no less of the last giant mistake Sleeper was going to make when it came to Carnage.

Despite the tragedy, however, Vu’Kreok was still hustling and bustling for the mandatory and constant party. The only difference was that whoever owned Stella Supernova’s soul had taken over every screen in the city, and made her talk about the fire. Constantly.

Sleeper suspected that they weren’t so much worried about the victims, as they were getting rid of the eyesore of a burned building. Fake compassion on a pretty face was enough to get the money flowing. Even the way Stella Supernova cried was aesthetically beautiful, like watching liquid diamonds drip down silk. It gave Sleeper the creeps. Nothing was that universally perfect unless there was a whole corporation behind it.

 _“It seems Vu’Kreok, our beautiful, endless party of a city, has been wracked with tragedy over the past couple days.”_ Her voice was dignified and yet carried a hint of seductiveness. It filled the streets of the club district of Vu’Kreok from various floating screens. Every alien around heard even if they didn’t stop to watch. “ _The Jewel Hotel fire is currently under investigation. Our brave Safety Squadron doused the flames and kept it contained to one building, we all ask that you donate to the relief as much as you can.”_

Carnage grumbled against their shoulder as Sleeper pressed on along the edge of the crowd. Carrying their brother piggyback style while trying to keep up with the news was a challenge. This was not an ideal set of circumstances, but Father had always taught them the value of a little optimism. What was there to be optimistic about?

As soon as Sleeper posed the question to themselves, Carnage immediately vomited over their shoulder.

“Oh!” Sleeper began, disgusted and affronted. “My God!” Two days. Two days of this shit and this was what they got.

“Ugh, don’t stop panicking yet, I’m sure round two— _Hurk!”_    

“Ugh—Carnage—Ew—I stepped in it!” Sleeper startled and immediately stepped forward on impulse, only to have their clean foot land right in the new puddle of vomit. The shrieking hiss that ripped from their chest caused one passerby to look over at them and promptly steer their child to safety across the street.

Ten minutes later, and with foot prints of vomit slowly fading behind them, Sleeper was back on track and ready to get this entire adventure over with.

“Are you mad at me?” Carnage asked.

“No, I’m mad at the situation,” Sleeper said, not wanting to start yet another argument they weren’t going to win. That was the trouble of arguing with sociopaths, no amount of logic was going to convince them they were wrong, so it was better to avoid the whole nasty business entirely. Yet, Carnage clearly had decided that Sleeper’s opinion of him was suddenly important and he pressed on,

“That’s code for you’re mad at me.”

“So, what if I am?” Sleeper asked. “What do you care?”

“Well, after what I did for you back at the hotel, you don’t have a right to be mad,” Carnage said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t have to help you out of that panic attack or find that lead for you, but I did, and so you can’t be mad. The only thing you’re allowed to feel is gratitude for me taking the time to care. So, you should start listening to what I have to say. You owe me that.”

“ _Oh my G_ —that’s not how that works!” Sleeper snapped after whispering the first part with great feeling. Unbelievable. They should have known Carnage would never do anything out of the goodness of his heart, not that they believed he had any in the first place, but hearing how truly warped his idea of helping someone was made them even less inclined to not be mad. “You don’t help someone just because you’ll get something out of it.”

“Why not?” Carnage asked. “That’s the only reason you do anything.”

“I assure you, I’m getting nothing out of spending time with you,” Sleeper said. “I’m doing this for our father.”   

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“I don’t.”

“It’s a figure of speech and you know that, asshole.”

A sharp pain jolted in back of Sleeper’s head from one of Carnage’s tendrils. “Ow! Do it again, and I’m dropping you in the nearest trashcan where you belong!”

“Pussy,” Carnage muttered.

Sleeper decided to ignore the quip. It was a struggle, but they remembered how they used to conduct themselves before Carnage the Man Child, and knew he was baiting them. After dealing with Red, they knew better than to take it. A fight in the middle of a crowd was a very good way to get themselves locked up, and they weren’t about to have that. They were lucky to still be walking the streets a free symbiote after The Jewel.

“I even saved you from killing yourself on that entirely unnecessary coffee table,” Carnage grumbled. “You’re welcome, by the way, ungrateful prick.”  

“By nearly breaking my arms and then throwing it out the window?” Sleeper asked. “Gee, thanks.”  

“Never said I was a hero. I’ve actually insisted the opposite.” Carnage huffed and seemed determined not to say anything else, but Sleeper found themselves keeping count of how long it would take their dear brother to hold back on talking about himself. “Also, my mom died from hitting her head on a coffee table, if you must know.” Five seconds. And Carnage had the gall to call them a narcissist.  

“Your file said your dad killed her for trying to kill you, as you never fail to remind me.”

“He did, by punching her in the face and knocking her into a coffee table,” Carnage said as if he were explaining it to a particularly slow child. “I lie about that last bit as part of the whole runaround gig I play with the mental health system. At least I think it's a lie. Hell if I actually remember. I just know it was super fucked up.” He cackled a bit, but then groaned as his nausea got the better of him. "Ugh, I wish I was dead."     

Sleeper wasn’t sure how to respond, other than an unintentionally flat-sounding, “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t gotta say anything,” Carnage said. “That’s the problem with all these fancy government doctors. They didn’t give a shit about me when I was just Cletus Kasady, and now they expect me to spill my guts while they pick them apart in front of me. As if telling me a million times that my life is a fucking nightmare will make me not want to kill people. Killing is what I am though. I ain’t ever gonna stop.”

“Yeah,” Sleeper sighed. “I know.”   

“Well, don’t sound so cheerful on my behalf.”  

“Oh wow, look at that, we’re here.”

The Playpen was exactly how Sleeper pictured it. Full of gaudy lights and a massive sign bearing the club’s name, they could hear the music from outside while a roped aisle indicated where they were to stand in line. Upon taking their place, Sleeper let out a sigh of emotional exhaustion when they saw the front of the building was made into the shape of sexy alien legs. Spread wide apart, the doorway, of course, was the—

 _“We’re going in the vagina.”_ Carnage’s hushed voice held the kind of awe reserved for an adolescent human. 

“That sure is a thing you felt necessary to whisper in your little brother’s ear,” Sleeper said. 

The legs were lined with bioluminescent flowers, pulsating different colors in impressive synchronization to make the legs look as if they were opening and closing. The tips of the high heels came together underneath The Playpen’s sign. Well, if Urok was afraid someone might miss his little shop of jiggly bits, that fear was unfounded. 

Once they got on the line, Sleeper helped Carnage off of their back. They surprised even themselves when they didn’t drop him just to offset giving him a two-day piggyback ride. The line was pretty long, to say the least. From what Sleeper gathered, there was some sort of drink special going on. 

When they got a clear view of the actual entrance to The Playpen, Carnage’s first question was, “What the hell is that?” 

“I assume you’re referring to the bouncer?” Sleeper asked. 

Said bouncer was a massive alien that looked like a taller, more muscular grunt. It even sported the same sad Precious Moments eyes, only now they sat against a chiseled jawline and permanently pouting plush lips. It wore a too-tight white tank top, that showed off every line of the creature’s abs and pecs, while a pair of short shorts strained over its massive thighs.  

“Yeah, what the hell is it?” Carnage moved a little bit in front of Sleeper to better see the tower of muscle, clearly unable to believe anything buffer than Venom actually existed. 

“It’s a chad,” Sleeper said. 

Carnage looked over his shoulder at them and snorted out a laugh. “You’re kidding.” 

“Nope,” Sleeper said with a thin grin. “Chads are genetically modified grunts. They’re meant to look imposing, yet handsome.” 

“They landed more into uncanny valley if you ask me,” Carnage said.

“What exquisite muscles you have!” the chad exclaimed upon seeing Sleeper at the front of the line. 

“Thanks!” Sleeper said. “This body came with them.” 

The chad’s response was to flex his biceps. Sleeper wasn’t sure if this was his way of laughing or a mating ritual. All Sleeper could focus on was that he kept direct eye contact with them the entire time to the point even Carnage started to fidget. 

When the chad finished is display, he took out a tiny machine from somewhere behind him. With the amount of strain his short shorts were under, Sleeper was hard pressed to believe it came from his pocket. It resembled a barcode reader, and the chad flashed it in both Carnage and Sleeper’s eyes. 

“Ow,” Sleeper muttered, and Carnage hissed. 

“Well, despite your amazing muscles, you look to be only about a year and some change old,” the chad said. 

“Wait, what?” Carnage asked. 

“I’m klyntar. We mature faster,” Sleeper said, ignoring Carnage’s baffled stare. 

“True, but the standard age for entry that covers all races is eight years old,” the chad explained. “Luckily for you, your friend here is well over the minimum age, so with his supervision and permission, you’re allowed. Vu’Kreok is family friendly, after all,” the chad said with a nod of his great neck muscles.          

“Well? Am I allowed in?” Sleeper asked Carnage, who continued to stare at them as if they were a stranger. “Carnage?” Sleeper prompted. 

“Sure, whatever,” Carnage said. “But were you ever going to tell me that you were an infant, or was I just supposed to find that out from Buffy the Steroid Slayer, over here?”

“Thanks,” Sleeper said to the chad bouncer, and promptly entered the ruby curtains. They gave way to a vibrant neon tunnel lined with more of the bioluminescent flowers and vines from the outside. New colors rippled from where their feet touched the floor, seemingly guiding them towards the main lounge.  

“How can you only be a year old?” Carnage asked incredulously.

“Uh, by being born a year ago,” Sleeper said, their eyes skirting to the side as they made their way through the tunnel. “How old did you think I was?”

“Um, I don’t know, but the fact that I’ve allowed myself to be bullied by the Boss Baby is really pissing me off.”

“If it makes you feel better, klyntar age faster than humans.”

“Nothing makes me feel better.”

“There you go again,” Sleeper sighed. “Just enjoy the boobs or whatever it is you’re into while I try and find this guy and think about what I’m going to say to him.”

“I don’t know, Sleeper, this feels pretty irresponsible of me to let you into a titty parlor at such a vulnerable age,” Carnage said with a bit of a smirk. Sleeper opened their mouth to retort, but instead found themselves catching Carnage as he started to sway. The pounding music and the motion of the color changes did nothing to help a hangover. “These feels worse than the time Dad gave me a concussion.”

“Yes, I know that your father was abusive.” It sounded more dismissive than they meant it to be.

“It was your dad.”

Sleeper looked down to see Carnage watching them with an eerily blank expression. Something about it made Sleeper feel like they were sharing the nausea plaguing Carnage’s stomach.  

“Me and Eddie were cellmates before I became my true self.” Carnage’s tone strained with barely subdued rage. “One time he punched me so hard my head bounced against the frame of our bunk.”

“You probably deserved it,” Sleeper said. However, despite their dismissal, they felt their fingers involuntarily tighten around Carnage’s arms as they pulled him against their side to better support him.

If someone were to ask Sleeper about the sudden, oddly protective gesture towards someone they were planning on killing via backstabbing, they would have fiercely denied said gesture being anything of the sort. Murder plans were still full speed ahead, and beating up a serial killer wasn’t the worst thing a person could do.      

“Let’s get you sitting down,” Sleeper said. “If you puke again, I’m making you eat it off the floor.”  

They made it into the main lounge, and Sleeper’s scent pits were overwhelmed by the smell of perfume and body sweat. The lights made it hard to navigate the narrow passageways between couches and stages. Various body parts wiggled and waved in a way that made Sleeper lift their upper lip in disgust. A place like this was definitely not for their demographic.

A sign indicated they were to seat themselves, and Sleeper deposited Carnage in a plush chair and sat next to him. Thankfully they still had the tablet from The Jewel, and they parted their biomass to withdraw it. Of course, the internet was password protected.

“Excuse me, ma’am, what is your wifi password?” Sleeper asked a passing server carrying multi-colored cocktails. The server turned, and the three pairs of breasts going down her body swayed precariously. Sleeper doubted all of them were real, because they couldn’t wrap their mind around anything evolving to be so top heavy.

“Murk mak,” she responded through a tangle of tentacles over her mouth.  

“What do you mean I have to make a purchase?” they asked incredulously.

“Mrk,” she said shortly, the frilled gills on her neck ruffling.

“I’ll take a water.”

“Mrr.” The server’s three eyes narrowed in clear disapproval. Sleeper hissed and the server hissed back, the tentacles attached to her sides waving while the cool blue of her skin lit up in an alarmed shade of red.   

“Fine, I guess I’ll take a lap dance,” they said, looking over to where Carnage half laid in his chair. “And one for my brother too.”

“Mak,” she said, seemingly pleased as she reached into her top halter and handed Sleeper a slimy piece of paper with a password on it.

“Thanks.”

They immediately went to work on bringing up all they could on this Urok Myet, and barely noticed when two dancers made their way over to their couches.

“You’re so strong,” the dancer crooned as she ran her six-fingered hands along Sleeper’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” Sleeper said distractedly as they browsed through their tablet. They looked over to where Carnage sprawled next to them on the couch. “You said this Urok guy was going to be here, right?”

“Yeah,” Carnage muttered. “That’s what our DIY fishing trophy told me.” The dancer in front of him twerked in his face, but the motion of her ass cheeks seemed to aggravate his nausea, because he looked away and covered his mouth.

Sleeper continued their research and found that Urok had pretty close ties to Te-Vash, as they stumbled across a photo of an opening ceremony to some restaurant with Urok being credited as a patron. Within the photo itself, Te-Vash stood at the restaurant’s doors with none other than Stella Supernova by his side. Te-Vash himself was handsome like Tel-Kar had been: blue-skinned, short white hair, and a smile so radiant it was impossible to see its true slime without a second glance. This restaurant was also only one of his successful endeavors. “Ma’am, please,” Sleeper said waving a hand at the dancer, who had placed her hands on their tablet to wave her bare breasts in their face. “I’m trying to look something up.”

“You ordered a lap dance,” she said, her six eyes blinking in bewilderment.

“I needed to make a purchase to use the wifi, but continue, I’ll tip you well.” Sleeper turned their attention to their nearly incapacitated brother. “Did he describe what this guy looked like?”  

“Uh,” Carnage began. “He said he was tall and pale. Kind of like a leek.”

“A leek?”

“Yeah.” The stripper twerking in his face turned around and placed a paper credit in his mouth. “Afarently you canf miff him.” She stood on her hands and used her butt cheeks to pull the bill out of from between Carnage’s fangs. “He’s got one big eye and he’ll shine under the black lights here.”  

Sleeper pulled up his picture on the tablet and honed in on the alien’s face. It was in fact, pale and bloated, like a fish that washed up on the shore.

“Oh, Urok.” The stripper’s voice caused Sleeper to look up at her. She continued her dance, but her expression was no longer sultry and seductive, but rather disgusted. “I hate that guy. He hired us all as independent contractors so he doesn’t have to pay us benefits.”

“Yeah, and he takes half of all our tips,” the other stripper said as she gyrated her crotch in Carnage’s face. “How are we supposed to make a living?”

“Why can’t you all just quit?” Carnage asked.

“If only,” Carnage’s stripper grumbled as she did a few body rolls. “He has us sign a non-compete agreement before we work for him.”

“Yeah, even if we quit, we’re not allowed to work for any other clubs. Goes to show you should read the fine print.”   

“Well, that’s not right,” Sleeper said. “I don’t see him dancing for clients out here.”

“Right?” Sleeper’s stripper said.

Shady business practices, aside, skimping out on employees was just a step short of slavery in Sleeper’s opinion. Still, Urok had information that they needed. Perhaps with a bit of help from pheromones, they’d have Urok revise his contracts.

As soon as Sleeper thought it, the man himself appeared, and he was every bit as ugly as his professional portraits online. He was tall and thin, much like a leek, with a bulbous, swollen head nearly engulfed by a single eye. Two massive chads flanked either side of him as he made his way into some back room. His bodyguards remained positioned outside the door. So, that’s where he lurked all night.

“There he is,” Sleeper said. “Let’s go.” They hauled Carnage up before he could protest and handed him a wad of paper credits from Tel-Kar’s utility belt. “Hurry, give the ladies their money.” 

“Why can’t you?” Carnage asked through a raspy voice. 

“Because I’m underage, remember?” Sleeper nudged him towards the two dancers. 

Carnage grumbled a bit under his breath as he counted out the bills and distributed the funds within the exposed cleavage of both dancers. 

“Sorry Starshine,” he said to the stripper who’d been dancing around Sleeper. “Moondoll put in just a little more effort.” 

“Come on.” Sleeper hooked a few tendrils around Carnage’s arm and pulled him towards the where the two chads stood chest to chest. Upon seeing Sleeper, they made direct eye-contact and began flexing. It was definitely meant to be some sort of threat display considering they both ignored Carnage. 

“Stop right there,” the one on the right said, as he extended a muscular arm and pointed at Sleeper. “I feel threatened by your body.” 

“Uh…” Sleeper wasn’t sure what else to vocalize, while Carnage simply scoffed and crossed his arms. 

“Unfortunately, despite your impressive physique,” the chad on the left said as he stretched his arms over his head. 

“This is the owner’s private office,” the chad on the right finished, his short shorts on the verge of ripping as he strained his ass muscles. “We ask that you and your son return to the main lobby and enjoy all the beautiful dancers.” 

“Son?!” Carnage exclaimed. 

Sleeper didn’t have time for this. As the chads continued their shameless display of flexing, Sleeper’s scent pits collected the biological information needed for them to secrete an aerosol pheromone.

“It’s fine,” Sleeper said. “We have an appointment.” 

“Also, I’m not his son,” Carnage said. 

Both the chads looked as if they were about to argue in tandem, the same way they’d been flexing and speaking, when their expressions shifted into what was as close to pensive as they could probably get. Sleeper knew that it was just the pheromones making subtle shifts in their brain chemistry.

“Of course, we remember now,” the left chad said, obviously not remembering, but not wanting to seem stupid in front of Sleeper. The chemicals in his brain convinced him that impressing Sleeper would take more than just a show of muscle, playing on every chad’s insecurity that they weren’t as smart as their creators led them to believe. 

They promptly stepped aside.

Sleeper was well acquainted to the feeling of being watched and turned to find Carnage staring suspiciously at them. 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” Carnage's voice was quietly thoughtful, and Sleeper definitely didn’t like it. 

“Whatever.” They opened the door.    

“Also, a reminder that I’m not his son,” Carnage said the door closed behind them. They were left in a giant office with even more chads inside. Urok sat behind a polished wooden desk that was bare save for a tiny glass tube that contained some sort of pulsating mass of green tissue inside.  

Urok’s massive eye refocused on them from where it was reading something on a holographic screen. “Well, you two must be super important.” He waved an arm and the holographic screen made a soft zapping noise and was seemingly sucked back into the projector at the center of the desk. “I specifically asked my chads to not let anyone in.” 

“This is important,” Sleeper said. 

“Sleeper, right?” Urok said. “Sherax has spoken highly of you.” 

“Doesn’t surprise me you know her,” Sleeper said. 

“She’s a good partner to have when you’re involved in less...savory jobs.” Urok watched them and then gestured to the two seats before his desk. “Alright, I’ll bite. Have a seat, boys.” 

“I’ll cut right to the chase. We need information from you.” Sleeper took the offered seat. Thankfully, Carnage seemed to be too busy glaring at them to not comply and sat down as well. Distracting as it was, it was better than him losing his goddamn mind again. “The kree Te-Vash. We know that he was banished from Hala and resides here. I specifically need information about something he’s been working on called the Gravity Bomb.”

“Te-Vash is a big deal,” Urok said, his tone light, friendly, and perfectly unreadable. “What’s in it for me to spill his secrets?”

Sleeper tapped a few things out on their tablet, showing one of the accounts they had access to with what they thought to be a ridiculous amount of credits on it. “This many credits.” Sleeper turned the tablet around to show Urok, who’s large, watery eye narrowed.

“Tempting, but not enough,” he said.

“Don’t make this difficult,” Sleeper sighed. “I just need the information, and we’ll be out of your hair. This place smells.”

“Oh, so now you’re insulting my establishment?” Urok said, affronted.

“Yeah, Sleeper,” Carnage said. “Not cool.”

“Shut up, Carnage.”

“And you’re telling your accomplice to shut up, that’s not very professional,” Urok chided. He steepled his spindly fingers together, and his lips parted in a grin that displayed a creepy amount of perfectly straight, tombstone teeth.

There was something in that smile that Sleeper very much didn’t like, like Urok knew something they didn’t.

“Oh, don’t look surprised. Look for yourself.” Urok pressed a button on his desk, and the holographic screen appeared yet again. Sleeper bared their teeth and slapped their hand to their forehead. The familiar dual tone of a symbiote’s voice, spliced over footage of the mechanic shop massacre played across the screen like a very incriminating ballet.

_“We’ve tracked these two rogue klyntar to this planet, and we come bearing a warning that both of them are highly unstable and dangerous.”_

The footage was grainy, but it showed the red blurs of Carnage’s tendrils tearing through the insectoid alien who had been reading the questionable magazine. Well, there was reasonable doubt there. The footage was poor quality. There was room for denial. What’s-His-Face never took proper care of his surveillance equipment.

“Oh hey, it’s me!” Carnage said.

Sleeper leaned ungracefully back in their chair and let out a pained groan. Welp, there went the chance of plausible deniability. 

The footage ended and was replaced by live feed of the anchor behind his gaudy, over decorated desk. Only he wasn’t alone. Sitting next to him was the female Agent of the Cosmos Sleeper thought they launched into space. Even through the screen she looked as formidable as ever with four muscular arms crossed in front of her. A graphic of both Sleeper and Carnage floated next to her. The picture must have been taken after Carnage ripped the frog alien in half, for Carnage’s maw was open in a mad cackle, while Sleeper’s face was screwed up in an expression of helpless disdain.  

“I look awful in that,” Sleeper muttered.

“You really do,” Carnage agreed. 

Sleeper shot him a glare.

_“These two are believed to be the spawn of another of our kind so foul, that not even our unfortunately corrupted brethren welcomed it in their midst. Our sources indicate that their parent was scheduled for incineration before it was stolen and taken to a primitive planet. As it stands, these klyntar are genetic mistakes and must be purged from our hive.”_

"I've never been called a genetic mistake before," Carnage said. 

"How does it feel?" Sleeper asked. 

"Honestly? Flattering." 

 _“We’re also getting reports that these very klyntar are allegedly responsible for The Jewel Hotel fire,”_ the news anchor said. _“Vu’Kreok’s specially trained surveillance flowers,”_ a graphic appeared of a flower with a tiny camera taped to it, _“captured footage of them fleeing the scene just as the fire started.”_

Sure enough, they rolled footage of Sleeper hauling Carnage out of the smoking hotel.

“Great,” Sleeper said.

_“You heard it here folks, we have two dangerous klyntar in our midst, and because we value the safety of all of our guests here in Vu’Kreok authorities putting out a 200,000,000 credit award with any information leading to their swift capture.”_

“You got enough money to top that, boys? Otherwise, there’s a lot more to gain by turning you in,” Urok said, his smile twisting further across his pale, misshapen face. Sleeper picked up the scent of several aliens moving close to them from the shadows.

Sleeper turned in their chair and saw about twenty incredibly muscular—like _really_ muscular—chads covered in copious amounts of body glitter. Two massive arms wrapped around Sleeper’s shoulders and lifted them out of the chair. “Hey!” Sleeper shouted. That’s when the realized that their back was pressed against a bare chest, while a tower of abs rested against their lower back. “Why is the one grabbing me shirtless?!” 

“Shirts chafe his nipples.” Urok’s nasty little teeth glinted in the light.

It was then Sleeper felt two hard numbs seemingly bloom to life against their shoulder blades. “Carnage!” They shrieked, kicking their legs as the large alien pulled them back. “Help me, his chafe-prone nipples are hard!”

“I can’t!” Carnage abruptly stood from his chair. “Toxic masculinity and a raging inferiority complex are repelling me from touching his rippling muscles!” 

“I just want to assure you that this is not sexual,” the alien said through plump, kissable lips. “They’re just sensitive.”

“Carnage!” Sleeper shrieked with a high-pitched edge of hysteria.

“I would appreciate you not body shaming my henchman,” Urok said.

“Yeah, Sleeper, not cool,” Carnage said, seemingly unaware of the other chads closing in around him.

Sleeper stopped their struggling as pure disbelief overtook their fear. They weren’t expecting Carnage to care about them, but something about the way their older brother crossed his arms and looked haughtily to the side made Sleeper all too aware that he was upset with them. “I’m going to fucking kill you!” Sleeper flailed and extended a few tendrils towards Carnage.

“See, that’s the problem!” Carnage turned further away. “You are incapable of saying anything nice to me!” His talons spread and the muscle-bound henchman hesitated.

“I can say nice things!” Sleeper lurched forward until their feet were firmly on the ground. Their rage granted them new strength, for the chad holding them fell forward with a soft gasp. “This bullshit you’re pulling right now is the reason I don’t!”

“Bullshit!?” Thick, hooked tendrils sprouted from Carnage’s back, causing the muscle-aliens to halt their encroachment entirely. Even Urok’s wicked smile faded. “You think after I went out of my way to help you, and you barely acknowledging it, means that me being mad is bullshit?”   

“Oh, you do not get to do that!” Sleeper’s lips peeled back in a snarl, their feet firmly planted as the shirtless chad continued in vain to pull them back. “You didn’t help me because you cared! You helped me because you thought you’d get something out of it! Because _you_ are a sociopath, and no relationship you have will ever be genuine!”

“Um, boys, perhaps you can argue this in prison group therapy?” Urok suggested.

 ** _“Shut up, Urok!”_** Sleeper and Carnage said simultaneously.

“No relationship _you_ have is genuine!” Carnage stalked forward and shoulder checked a few of the glittery bodyguards as he went. “You only want to save Earth because Dad is there! And I don’t think you even really care about him! I think that the only reason you want to save him so badly is because you can’t picture a universe without him, because you can’t figure out a purpose for yourself outside of him!”

“Oh, what? You think because you’ve spent half of your life locked up in an asylum, that makes you a psychologist now?” A growl escaped Sleeper’s clenched fangs. “Also, don’t you bring Father into this!” They broke free of the shirtless chad’s hold to stick a talon in Carnage’s face. The chad fell to the ground and proceeded to rock on his back like an overturned turtle, his muscles too large for him to flip himself upright. 

“Why not? Him worshiping your existence is why you’re going through all this!” Carnage yelled.

“Uh, boys?” Urok tried again.

“He doesn’t worship my existence!”

“Oh, he totally does, and it makes you feel like your shit don’t stink! Everything has to be your way! Even you bringing me with you is just because of how you feel about me! And you can’t stand it!”

“You’re right, I can’t!” Sleeper yelled, shoving back against Carnage’s shoulders and forcing him to stumble. “This entire situation is your fault! If my own biology didn’t betray me, and I didn’t need you, I would have let you rot in Ravencroft until Kafka starved you to death!”

Carnage shoved Sleeper back. “Yeah, well who’s the idiot, now?”

“Me! I’m the idiot who thought you weren’t completely worthless!”

 Carnage’s entire body froze as if something in his mind broke. Then his eyes shrank into slits and a blur of red was the only thing Sleeper saw as serrated talons raked across the side of their face. The pain and rage came together in an explosion of screeching and clawing as Sleeper recovered and tackled Carnage with every ounce of bulk Tel-Kar’s body provided. They rolled across the floor, biting and tearing into each other while their tendrils whipped the air around them.

They collided against the desk, knocking it back over onto Urok. The chads attempted to pull Carnage off of Sleeper, but were swept away by a wave of red biomass and gnashing teeth. Sleeper forced Carnage onto his back with Tel-Kar’s superior strength, and snared a few of Carnage’s whipping tendrils with their own.

“Apologize for being a dick to me after I helped you!” Carnage yelled. 

“That’s not how it works, you idiot!” Sleeper’s eyes widened as searing pain erupted from their abdomen. Carnage had somehow contorted himself so that the smaller talons of his feet were pressed to their stomach. Then with a half grunt, half roar, Carnage sent Sleeper careening into their abandoned chairs. A rush of air forced its way out from between Sleeper’s clenched teeth. With a help a few tendrils, they rolled with the fall and landed on their feet.

They bellowed out a screeching roar directly at where Carnage crouched on all fours. Carnage chittered back and sent a great swarth of tendrils in Sleeper’s direction. Sleeper dropped to the ground on their belly, hissing over the sound Carnage’s biomass ripping through several well-muscled bodies of the chads unfortunate enough to be behind them.

“My chads!” Urok cried from his place pinned beneath his desk. 

Sleeper darted forward, and they and Carnage collided together just as the light sizzle of a heat beam brushed Sleeper’s arm. The remaining chads drew their firearms.  Carnage’s talons raked down their chest and Sleeper turned and shouldered their brother into the incoming beams.

“You little chucklefuck!” Carnage shrieked. His words morphed into an animalistic screech as every laser hit his back before he crashed into the chads. They all hit the ground in a glittery pile of muscles and pleather.

Carnage was only down for a second before a mass of writhing black-veined coils erupted from the center of the chad pile. Sleeper stood tall as the red and black tendrils circled around like a whirlpool of eldritch abominations. The force of them lifted the chads from their places on the floor, giving the now glittery tornado meaty (and sweaty) projectiles. 

The next second Sleeper was dodging aliens with muscles so large, even Father would have been jealous of their gains. They sprung into the air, launching themselves off of the sleek pecs of a flying chad. The smell of pleather and sweat stung their scent pits as they sank their claws into the bulging bicep of another. Instead of blood, air hissed from the wounds on the chad’s arm. Now along with the sweat and pleather, the overwhelming spicy tang of some type of masculine scent added to the mix. These chads were full of some type of gas, and sure enough the chad’s once rippling muscles were shrinking at an alarming rate. 

Sleeper didn’t have much time to waste, then. They pulled the chad’s body in front of them and braced their feet against the bulk of the alien’s back. Sleeper’s eyes narrowed as they flew towards the serrated coils of Carnage’s body. There was a chance they were going to be ripped to shreds, but that was preferable to apologizing to Carnage for hurting his nonexistent feelings. If they died, it was an honorable death. 

Sleeper pushed Tel-Kar’s body to its limits, using every ounce of strength in the kree’s real muscles to shove the chad against the spinning wall of tendrils. More of that hot air erupted from the chad’s body, spraying Sleeper’s face with body glitter. It was fine. Sleeper had a decent enough imagination to picture it was the blood of their enemies, and in this case, Cletus Kasady’s. Sleeper pressed onward through the opening in the tendrils the chad’s sacrifice brought them. They were in the eye of the storm, and as if in slow motion, they looked down. 

Carnage’s head tilted back, and the white splotches of his eyes widened. 

“You’re too sensitive!” A screech erupted from the center of Sleeper’s chest as they used the last of the chad as a springboard to dive head first at their brother. Their fangs glistened with saliva and their claws reached forward to tear into the face of the bastard who had the audacity to share genes with Venom. 

They crashed down on him with the force of a semi. Carnage’s legs buckled beneath him and Sleeper sank their claws deep into his chest, so deep they heart the soft pop of one of Cletus Kasady’s ribs. Both of them slammed to the ground and the sound of loud thuds rang in the air, indicating the tendril tornado had fallen apart. Sleeper hoisted themselves to their feet. Their claws were still deeply imbedded in Carnage’s chest as they lifted him over their head with a deep roar of pride and ego. 

Carnage shrieked in pain, his limbs writhing as he tore at Sleeper’s forearms. Sleeper ignored the pain and braced their feet. They pulled their claws apart, ripping Carnage’s biomass apart to expose Kasady’s chest. It was pale and bruised, but nowhere near to Sleeper’s liking, and so they flung him downwards and kicked him before he hit the ground. 

The blow sent him flying into Urok’s overturned desk. He spilled over it with a wheezing screech, his tendrils whipping after him. Sleeper knew it was going to take more than that, and prepared themselves for another attack. 

What came next was an abomination of which the likes Sleeper had never seen. The entire half of the room erupted in red biomass, and the overwhelming smell of rot made Sleeper take a moment to gag. Their scent pits felt like they were on fire, but they stood firm as the wall of biomass stretched to every corner of the room like the makings of a demonic spider. 

A writhing mass of tendrils extended from the center of the wall, twisting together and fusing into a bulge that further shaped itself into the jagged maw of Carnage’s mouth. Two elongated white spots split open atop the blackened fangs and wriggling tongue, the length of Urok’s entire desk, slid from behind black teeth. Speaking of which, Sleeper couldn’t see anymore. Which then brought them to the horrifying conclusion that Urok was somewhere behind those fucking teeth.  

“Oh, goddamn it, really?” Sleeper yelled at Carnage’s massive face. “This is what we’re doing now?”  

“Apologize!” Carnage bellowed. 

“For what?” 

“Can’t you see you were being insensitive?” A new voice drew Sleeper’s attention to the cocoon of biomass dangling from the ceiling. Urok hung upside down with only his face visible. His one eye was wide and terrified and Sleeper was pretty sure he was doing his species' equivalent of crying. That or his face was just oozing green slime. 

“What do you know?” Sleeper asked, turning their attention to Urok briefly. “I’m not apologizing to a sociopath!” 

“I went out of my way for you!” Carnage snarled, sending a few razor-edged tendrils surging towards Sleeper. Sleeper just barely managed to dodge the bulk of the onslaught, and even then, a few made contact and sheared off several strands of biomass. Sleeper hissed in pain and knitted back together over the exposed blue of Tel-Kar’s skin. 

“You only did so I’d feel indebted to you!” Sleeper snarled. “Why in the world would you think I’d thank you for trying to manipulate me!” 

“Maybe the motive isn’t what is necessary here,” Urok offered, his voice strained as Carnage’s cocoon started to constrict around his spindly body.

“That’s stupid,” Sleeper said as they dodged a few more tendrils. “Why wouldn’t I acknowledge the reason behind it?”

“You didn’t have to be such a tool about it!” Carnage snarled. 

“How was I being a tool?” Sleeper demanded. “I’m allowed to be upset that you murdered an entire hotel!” 

“It’s true,” Urok said. “You are allowed to feel the way you do, but maybe, maybe it was a form of acting out because of the way you behave towards him. No offense, but I barely know you and I vastly prefer your brother here.” 

“Hah!” Carnage’s face loomed over them like an eldritch mask. 

Sleeper snarled at Urok. “I don’t feel the need to be loved by strangers, thanks.”

“My point is that people get too caught up on _why_ people do things. Maybe it’s enough to be the bigger person in your relationship and accept that your brother did something nice for you. Maybe it’s okay to...be nice?” 

“He’s a serial killer!” Sleeper argued. This was getting beyond stupid. Urok, owner of a strip club where he made a point to barely pay his dancers, was giving them relationship advice. “I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that he just wants to control me?” 

 “Not at all,” Urok said, his pale skin reddening by the second. “If you’re aware of his motive, he can’t manipulate you. You’re allowed to reward good behavior while still being completely aware of bad motivations. That’s why it’s called being the bigger person,” Urok said. “Maybe you should meet him halfway. He obviously cares about your opinion of him.” 

Meet him halfway. 

Sleeper grudgingly met the colossal eyes of Carnage’s wall-face. “Do you?” they asked. “Do you care about my opinion of you?”  

“I want you to notice when I go out of my way for you!” Carnage said. 

“That’s not what I asked,” Sleeper said.

 Carnage hissed and Urok let out a tiny squeak as he was constricted further.  They stared each other down, Sleeper ready to dodge another barrage, and Carnage making disturbing clicking sounds from the back of his throat.    

“I snuck out of the room while you were in the bathroom because I wanted to try some weird space drugs. It ended up causing a major hallucination where I was in the cast of The Brady Bunch.” His eyes narrowed, almost as if he were ashamed. “I of course, couldn’t resist the honor of killing everyone involved with one of the last old-style family sitcoms, but when the hallucination wore off instead of a delightful blended family, it ended up being the entire hotel, okay?” 

That still didn’t answer their question, but it did shed light on the fact that The Jewel had been an accident, unlike the mechanic shop. Maybe not only was it stupid—as they had long since concluded— but also unfair of them to expect Carnage to be functional enough not to ruin everything he touched. While a healthy person could spend the night somewhere and not commit mass murder, Carnage wasn’t healthy. They knew he was impulsive, mentally ill, unstable, and well, the list went on in regard to how dysfunctional their brother was. 

“You know what, Carnage,” Sleeper said, taking a moment to rub their eyes and choke on the words they were about to speak. “Urok’s right.” Boy that was a self-flagellation if they ever felt it. “I know you were just trying to work your Charles Manson bullshit, so don’t think I don’t know that.” They pointed a talon at Carnage’s face, but their biomass reformed over their fangs. “But you were there for me when I needed someone, and even though you were the last person I wanted, you were all I had. That’s the part I shouldn’t dismiss. So, thank you, I guess, for being a marginally less shitty brother for once.”     

“You’re welcome,” Carnage said with a bit too much pride for Sleeper’s taste, but then, little of who Carnage was as a person was Sleeper’s taste to begin with. “Also,” the corded webs of tendrils holding Carnage’s snake-like head lowered so he could better meet Sleeper’s eyes, “I really thought I was killing The Brady Bunch.” 

“I know,” Sleeper said with a begrudging half smile. That was probably the closest they’d ever get to an apology, and well, like Urok said, sometimes it was worth it to meet someone halfway. “Now, let’s torture this guy for information on my bomb. What do you say?”

“The sound of screaming does help me calm down,” Carnage said.  

“But I gave you advice!” Urok cried as Carnage lowered the cocoon of biomass to dangle him before Sleeper. The sleek surface of the tissue rippled like water and split apart, until Urok’s body was held suspended in an ‘X’ shape while his one terrified eye held red of Sleeper’s. 

“Thanks for mediating, but I told you what I’m here for,” Sleeper said, crossing their arms over their chest. “I want information on the kree, Te-Vash.” 

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Urok asked.   

“Alright, Te-Vash. He’s still making weapons, right?” Sleeper asked. 

“Yes.” Urok nodded. “You want a bomb? He’s got plenty under development that could take out a whole planet. Not to mention biological weapons: viruses, bacteria, fungi, you name it, he’s probably made weapons from it. He’s got labs dotting this entire planet.” 

“Great, I need information on the Gravity Bomb,” Sleeper said. “You know it, right?” 

“That’s his magnum opus,” Urok said. “It can basically kill anything! I don’t know which one of his bunkers it’s in, though. I’m sure if you can get hold of his holopad, you can figure it out.” 

“And how are we supposed to get said holopad?” Sleeper asked, placing one hand on Urok’s cheek and extending their talons. 

“He always has it on him,” Urok said. “Always. I’m sure if you get close enough to him somehow you can get it.” 

“So where can we find him?” Sleeper asked. 

Urok hesitated at that, trembling. 

“If you lie, I’ll know, and you won’t have to worry about chafed nipples anymore,” Carnage growled. 

“Okay, okay, Te-Vash owns a casino. The Night Diamond. He’s planning to propose to his girlfriend. You probably know her. She’s the face of Vu’Kreok. Stella Supernova. She’s doing a show at the end of the week, and tickets are all sold out.”  

“The Night Diamond,” Sleeper repeated thoughtfully. 

“Yes, you can’t miss it. It’s the biggest one on the river! Huge sign!” 

“I’m sure we can get ourselves in there. We can be pretty stealthy,” Carnage said. 

Sleeper looked up at Carnage’s face thoughtfully and then turned back to Urok. “Do you know details about this proposal?” 

Before Urok could answer, the pointed tip of Carnage’s tongue dragged its way across the terrified alien’s cheek. “Oh, Xyhniana,” he whimpered. 

“He’s not here,” Sleeper said. 

“She,” Urok said. 

“Huh?” 

“Xyhniana is my people’s goddess.” 

“Wow, way to be sexist, Sleeper,” Carnage said. 

“Oh, we are not starting this again,” Sleeper growled. 

“No, please. I can’t sit through you two fighting again. Here’s what I got from his wedding planners. He’ll be at The Night Diamond at sixteen clicks, and after Stella Supernova’s first number, that’s when he’ll propose. He always sits in the same place. Booth in the back. Always has wine. Says the lighting makes his jaw more chiseled. It’s going to be an exclusive event. Heavy security, especially where the showgirl lounge, which is where Te-Vash will be.” 

“Good information, thanks,” Sleeper said. “See? This didn’t have to be hard.” 

“Please, don’t kill me,” Urok begged.

“Now I really wanna kill him,” Carnage said.

“Just give me a second,” Sleeper said as they looked at Urok’s slimy face thoughtfully. “I want to check around here.” 

“Alright, but make it quick,” Carnage snarled. “His face ooze is pissing me off.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sleeper muttered, stepping over a few bodies to get to the previously guarded door on the right side of the room. “Urok, is this where you keep all your blueprints? One for the casino might come in handy.”

“No, don’t!” Urok cried just as Sleeper opened the door.

Cages upon cages were stacked on top of each other, and they were filled with terrified alien families who all cowered away from the light. Parents pulled their children close to their bodies in an attempt to protect them, and a few let out pitiable cries. One pleaded in a language Sleeper didn’t understand, only to be hushed by its parent covering its mouth with a tentacle. They weren’t klyntar, but to actually come face to face with a slave trade post, no matter the race, made Sleeper's mind light itself on fire.

As they stood stunned in the doorway, they were suddenly faced with Other Parent trapped in Tel-Kar’s then sound-mind. Forced to their humanoid shape with their limbs spread apart by the shackles of kree technology, their Other Parent’s despair was all-consuming. Sleeper remembered their own fear, knowing that they and Eddie would die if their parent didn’t find the strength to fight what was created to enslave them. Sleeper heard their own voice, begging, terrified, and worst of all helpless. Even now the surface of their biomass stung with the feeling of fire. 

Then the vision passed, and Sleeper was once again staring at the faces of the aliens they knew felt the same. For them, there was no amount of strength they could muster to break free. On the inside, Sleeper wanted to turn around and rip Urok limb from limb. Instead, a simple “Ah,” left their mouth and they calmly turned their head to where the alien dangled before Carnage. “Carnage?”

“What?” he asked.

“I want you to kill him.”

“No please!” Urok wailed at the same time Carnage asked,

“You what?”

“I want you to kill him,” Sleeper repeated pleasantly. “But make it hurt.”

The tendrils turned Urok to face Carnage’s massive black teeth. “Why, my sweet little brother,” he crooned while several wet clicks sounded from the back of his maw, “making it hurt is the only way I do things.” 

Sleeper turned back to the captured aliens and closed the door just as Urok’s screams blended with Carnage’s cackling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we end again! Thank you so much for getting this far. I appreciate every comment and kudos because honestly, without support, it would be way more difficult to keep writing. I can't tell you how much it means to me, so thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed thus far. If you made it this far, you should yodel at me on tumblr @princess-of-peachtrees.


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